


Out of Hell

by MutantsandSoldiers



Category: Spider-Man (Ultimateverse), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, F/M, Graphic Description, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kidnapping, Multi, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Original Character(s), Past Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rape Recovery, Slow Burn, Survival, Therapy, Violence, more to come - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-06 15:43:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 33,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13414425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MutantsandSoldiers/pseuds/MutantsandSoldiers
Summary: When a cultist camp is taken by SHIELD and the Avengers, Steve finds a mutant omega covered in a web of scars. Through years of education, therapy and motivation, she gains the life and independence she always wanted and much more. One mutant's story of childhood trauma and rape, liberation, healing and the love that eventually grows between her and two alphas. This is the story of Evelin Jager.





	1. Let's Climb Out of Hell

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this for a while so it's pretty long but I'm going to post it slowly.
> 
> Evelin Jager is an Original Character.
> 
> This is a slow burn of a story. I prefer building characters slowly over time rather than just doing one shots. It will eventually have a M/F/M relationship that is completely consensual. 
> 
> There is some heavy talk of trauma, mental illness and non-con/rape. I tried to put in all trigger warnings but this is a pretty dark fic at times. 
> 
> I hope you like it!
> 
> 1/20/18 Update:  
> I worked on the format and deleted a couple of copies that happened because of my stupid computer! Sorry about that!

Steve was the first one into the center of the compound. His eyes took in everything as people were being hauled into SHIELD vehicles to be taken to the headquarters for questioning. There was smoke coming from around him but the center building, the cultist leader’s home, was perfectly intact. 

As he was staring at it, the door was shoved open by a large, beastial man that had fur running down from the back of his head and down his spine. He had long, crooked claws at the ends of his large hands and fangs that rested against his lower lip.

His dangerous green eyes locked with Steve’s and they stood there for a second, staring each other down. This creature was a human under all of that striking appearance; he was an alpha too. Steve had to tread carefully.

Steve approached, slowly, and watched as the man’s eyes followed him. After what felt like forever, the beast stepped aside so he could look inside the candle-lit inside of the house. Sitting in the center of the room, crumpled and draped in a long, flowing white gown, was a woman.

He stepped closer, acutely aware of the mutant male standing by the door protectively. Once past the threshold of the house, the mixture of smells hit him like a brick wall. It smelt like blood and fear and omega and danger.

Her blue eyes were glazed over in terror and exhaustion. She had a hand on her neck, which was covered in blood. Steve rushes forward, ignoring the prickling of danger at the back of his neck, to reach for her hand. Her pupils dilate and he is suddenly assaulted by the smell of her. He hesitated. She was afraid; she was cornered and it was never a good idea to corner an omega.

“I won’t hurt you,” he whispers, trying to soothe her with alpha pheromones. “I just want to look at your neck.”

He holds out his hand and, slowly, she drops her arm. Inhaling sharply, he quickly rips a large piece of her skirt and wads it up to press against the wound. It looked like someone had taken an axe to her neck; how she was still alive, he would never know. She whimpers in pain as he presses hard and wraps another piece of skirt up under her opposite arm so it will stay.

“I’m sorry,” he mutters, focused on keeping her alive. During the ordeal, his fingers brush across her neck from a hole in his glove. It was like his world was flipped upside down as his body filled with an unbridled fear and pain he had never known. He wanted to vomit with how powerful the sudden surge of emotions were. 

Looking down at her, he sees the understanding in her eyes as she smiles and reaches for him. She suddenly trusts him. Why? What had just happened? Were those her emotions? They had to be. 

He gently picks her up and carries her small, frail form out of the building. The beastial creature that was guarding the door, followed after Steve. He jogged to the twin jet that was set up for medical aid. There were a few left but he easily runs up the ramp and sets the woman down on a table where the main doctor worked.

“She has a wound on her neck,” he shouts above the chaos of the craft. 

The doctor hands over whatever she’s doing and moves to check under the makeshift bandage. She winces. “I need anesthetic now! This wound takes priority!”

Steve moves to back away until his hand is caught and held. Her blue eyes, hazy and full of fear, plead with him. He finds himself pausing before keeping hold of her hand without moving. 

She relaxes and allows the doctor to put a mask on her face so that she can inhale the chemicals. It doesn’t take three seconds for the girl to be completely unconscious and limp.

Finally, he is able to pull away, leaving the omega in the hands of the doctors. He looks back for a moment but goes back to his job just in case there are other cultists who had run away. Areli was missing along with his psychic, Mindwipe. Those two definitely needed to be found if they were to cut this off at the head.

\---

When he was washed and in fresh clothes, he went to the medical section of SHIELD headquarters. Many of the cultists had been locked away for attempting to stop the liberation of the mutant captives. No, the medbay was full of mutants who had been kept as livestock by the cult. Steve had heard many things since coming back to the states and he didn’t like any of it.

So, that’s why the young woman in the white dress stuck in his mind so hard. All of the other mutants had been adults, she was very obviously a teenager. She was much too young to have been taken and there were no missing persons reports in the immediate area that matched her description. 

He knocks on the door before entering and smiles at the Doctor who gestured for him to come in. “Good morning, Doctor,” he says politely, walking up to the opposite side of the bed.

The girl looked comfortable and relaxed as she slept. There were heavy bandages on her neck and a lot of machines hooked up to her. She was very pale so it made the dark brown hair that framed her head on the pillow seem that much darker. She was so young.

“How’s she doing?” he asks, staring down at the young woman.

The Doctor grunts a little in frustration. “It took a long time to stabilize her but she’ll recover. She’s scheduled for another blood transfusion here in about an hour.” She pauses for a second before sighing and putting the clipboard down. Leaning against the end of the bed, she rubs the bridge of her nose. “Listen, none of these people are okay but...fuck, Captain, she’s pretty fucked up.”

He probably should have been uncomfortable with her language but he just couldn’t. Not after what this doctor and her team had been through. She had probably performed more rape kits in the past twenty four hours than they had in their whole lives. Every single one of the captives were battered and worse. 

“She has a long history of scars all over her body,” she points at the girl’s arms where a lattice of scars told her story. The Doctor makes a noise to discourage him from touching her. “She’s a mutant too, Captain, if you touch her with bare hands, you’ll pass out. Trust me, I had a nurse do that to take her pulse and was out for two hours.”

He pulls his hand away slowly. It probably wouldn’t work on him but he wasn’t willing to test that theory. “When will she wake up?” 

“We have her on a small dose of morphine to keep the pain from bothering her. She’s underweight and obviously anemic,” she explains, scoffing. She thinks for a second before sitting down in a chair across the room; she looked exhausted and worn. “These people need a lot of help, Captain. It’s not going to stop once they’re healed. They’re going to need mental and emotional help, a lot of it. She’s no more than sixteen, Captain. Sixteen! She’s just a child!”

He nods, looking at the sleeping woman. “SHIELD already has that set into motion after they are healed and physically capable. Director Fury isn’t going to have them interrogated. He’s going to have our team of psychologists talk to them.”

She nods. “That’s good. They’re going to need all the help they can get.”

Steve got a call nearly a week from the day they had liberated the compound that the girl was awake. Thankfully, he hadn’t been on a mission and rushed to the medbay as quickly as possible. The Doctor had been short but had mentioned that she wasn’t saying anything and refused to allow anyone to touch her.

When he walks up to the room, the Doctor and several nurses were standing outside of the closed door. “Doctor Whitaker?” Steve asks, confused. “What’s going on?”

She shakes her head, tired. “We can’t go in there, Captain. She’s made the room unbearable for anyone. We all tried but she almost knocked us all out. We figured you were the best possibility.”

He nods and goes to open the door. All of the people around the door take a healthy couple of steps away as he slips through. It was like hitting a brick wall of smell and emotion. He felt his skin prickle a little with warning; she smelt dangerous again and was cornered. Cornered omegas were the most dangerous thing.

The girl was curled up on her bed, legs tucked up to her chest and her face pressed into her knees. He walks over, slowly, carefully sitting in the chair next to the bed. She flinches a little but doesn’t look up. Her body was so tight it looked like it might snap from tension. She smelt terrified and desperate.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he reassures her, hating that she was so frightened. He wanted to help her, comfort her, protect her; his inner alpha was demanding that he soothe her ache. His mind though, knew better than to try and give in to any of those desires. She was small and probably very weak but he had a feeling he would regret touching her at the moment. “The doctors aren’t going to hurt you either. They’re just trying to help.”

She tilts her head a little, peeking out at him from behind a sheen of greasy, brown hair. It was a step in the right direction, at least. Her body shifts a little so that she could sit up straight. Her eyes look at him and he can’t help but feel scrutinized. 

“We want to help you,” he smiles, leaning forward a little. He feels reassured when she doesn’t flinch away but merely stares at him, stoic and coiled like a threatened snake. “We invaded the compound to rescue you and the other mutants.”

Slowly, she turns her body to dangle her legs off the side of the bed. He reaches out automatically when she wavers a little but she flinches at his advance. Steve makes himself sit back, patiently waiting for her. She looks at him from under overgrown bangs and narrows her eyes at him. 

“Prove it,” she rasps with a heavy German accent, holding out a hand defiantly.

He looks at the offered limb and then back to the woman. She was demanding him to do it; she was defiantly refusing to be afraid of him even though everything in the room said she was terrified. He had to assume this was a step in the right direction.

“Okay,” he nods, reaching out to clasp her hand with his.

They both inhale a little as the other’s emotions flood through their bodies. He is acutely aware of her all around him as she soaks into his skin. She was fear and passion and submission and defiance and intelligence; she tasted like omega and broken glass, gritty and sweet all at the same time. And slowly, so slowly, she begins to smell like trust.

She finally pulls away and slumps to her side against the pillow. He stands to help her by pushing her legs up onto the bed. Her body was shaking as he covers her with a thin blanket and goes to open the window so they could air out the room. There is a sweet breeze as a small beam of sun slants through the window across her body.

Her eyes turn to the light and there is a soft smile on her lips. He allows the doctors to come into the room after it is clear and she allows them to work on her. All the while, she is looking out the window.

He went to see her every day when he could. She hadn’t spoken since the first day she had been awake but he took books with him to leave so that she wasn’t bored. Apparently, she was an avid reader because Doctor Whitaker always had at least one book to give back to him that she had completed. 

It wasn’t until the second week of his visits that she finally spoke. “What is your name?” she asks when he comes through the door, new stack of books in his hands. 

Her accent was very strong but he still understood her. “Steve Rogers,” he smiles, happy to sit down in the chair to look at her. She had obviously had a bath recently because the tips of her dark brown hair were black with water. 

“Steve Rogers,” she whispers, testing it out. “The women talk about you a lot. They say you’re a good alpha.”

His face heats a little. He wasn’t daft, he knew he was attractive and very appealing to others but he still wasn’t used to it. “O-Oh, well I try to be a good alpha,” he chuckles, nervous and awkward.

She looks at him, hands folded neatly on her lap. Her eyes are piercing but still held a little of the fear from two weeks ago. That emotion would take a bit to rid herself of, he knew. “Do you intend to make me your omega?” she asks bluntly.

He sputters, shocked and unable to answer her for a moment. “O-Of course not! What in the world would make you think that?!” Maybe he would get lucky and she wouldn’t notice how flushed his cheeks were. 

Her head tilts a little. “If I am to be integrated into the real world, I will obviously need an alpha and you have shown a vast amount of interest. I assumed you were going to offer to make me your mate.”

Oh shit. That was a very archaic way of thinking from nearly a hundred years ago. That was a perspective that only the most backwards countries still had and even then it was looked down on by the world. “No, god no! Omegas have rights in the real world, ma’am. You are a person! You don’t need an alpha to be a part of the real world,” he tries to explain to her.

She seems confused but reaches over to hold up a novel that he had brought a couple days ago. “This book said the same thing,” she mentions, flipping through the pages of the best seller. It was an omega-centric book that uplifted and encouraged with stereotype-breaking characters. Clint had suggested it for the omega. “I was having a hard time believing it. So...it’s true? Omegas can own houses by themselves? They can go out without an escort?”

He smiles. “Yes, you are your own person. You don’t need an alpha.” He nearly kicks himself when he realizes he doesn’t even know her name. “I’m sorry for being rude. What’s your name?”

The look she gives him is one of confusion and pain. “Omegas don’t get names,” she scoffs, as if it were the most normal thing to say. She looks at the book. “But, she had a name. Do I get a name?”

His heart breaks completely. “Yes, of course. You can pick any name you want,” he whispers, wanting to hug her. His inner alpha wanted him to grab her up and protect her from everything she had already gone through. 

“How do I even start to pick a name?” she whispers, staring at the book as a tear runs down her face and plops on the cover. Steve couldn’t help it anymore, he gets up slowly and sits beside her on the bed, facing her. She looks up at him with watery eyes. “It’s so...much.”

His heart crumbles into dust as he reaches out to wrap his arms around her shoulders. She collapses into him willingly, a frail young girl. To think, a name, for her, was a monumental thing; it wasn’t that big for anyone else but...she had lived her whole life without a name. 

Her emotions burst through him like a wave that made him feel uncomfortable. She was so afraid and overwhelmed with everything that was happening. But, a small, tiny glimmer of hope flared right at the end as she pulled away to give him a smile that actually had some feeling behind it.

He came back the next day with a computer to help keep her busy and to help her find a name. She watched a movie for the very first time in her life and he couldn’t help but stare as she watched with rapt attention as the female omega protagonist walked across the screen, confident and outspoken. Her tears at the end of the movie were painful to watch but she seems a little more happy.

“You can keep the laptop,” he smiles, watching her face for any indication of how she was feeling. She seemed shocked but didn’t argue with him. “I’m going to come with a guest tomorrow, okay? His name is Xavier; he’s a mutant like you. He’s going to talk to you about a school for mutants where you can live with your brother.”

“Damian?” she perks up, looking up at him hopefully. “He’s okay?”

“Yeah, he got cleared just a couple of days ago and is getting moved to Xavier’s school within the week. I’ll bring him too, if you want,” he offers, watching happiness blossom across her face. She looked so much better in that moment; he knew in an instant she would be just fine.

\---

Steve came back the next day, just like he said he would. 

She had halfway expected him to never show up again. She hadn’t really given him any reason to come back, after all. She knew that she should do something to convince him to stay; no alpha stayed on their own without some kind of incentive.

No, he wasn’t like that. He was like the alpha in that book he had given her. He was kind and selfless and wanted nothing from her but her company. She had touched him enough times to know how genuine his concern for her was; it was just hard for her to accept that an alpha could do things for an omega without expecting any reward.

Happiness assaulted her so suddenly when she saw her brother walk in behind the blond man. Weak limbs be damned, she leapt to her feet to get to him. He was there in an instant, hugging her to his large body like she was the only thing that existed. If it hadn’t been for Damian, she probably wouldn’t have lasted as long as she did in the compound. He took care of her; he looked after her. 

His arms were strong as he picked her back up to set her on the bed again. “You should be resting,” he said with his equally thick accent. In German, he told her that he had missed her. “I want to introduce you to someone. Sis, this is Professor Xavier.”

He stepped aside so she could see the man in a wheelchair pull up closer to the bed. She felt a little uncomfortable but noticed the lack of tension in her brother so it made her feel a little better. He was a beta, this Xavier, and seemed like a nice guy. He had an easy smile that was calming her.

“Good morning, I’m Professor Xavier. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he smiles, offering a hand to her. She looks at it warily; she had grown to understand that she needed to keep her hands to herself if she was just meeting someone. She had accidentally knocked a nurse out one time. “I am perfectly aware of your abilities. I’d like to experience them for myself.”

She nods her head, reaching out to shake his hand. Looking into his eyes, she sends waves of uncertainty and warnings. If he touched or harmed her brother, she would destroy him. 

The emotions were so strong, they shocked even her brother who had a heightened sense of smell. The Professor doesn’t pull away though and merely smiles a little wider. “Just as I thought,” he chuckles, pulling away after a moment. “You’re a pheromone manipulator, my dear.”

“Pheromones?” Steve asks, curious. “Like the scents we release involuntarily from when we were more primitive?” 

The Professor nods his head, resting his elbows on the arms of his chair. “It is something that still holds a large importance today. Pheromones are how we know what each person’s presentation is. We send them out as a warning, deterrent and encouragement. I knew one other pheromone manipulator like yourself but...she was nowhere near as...potent as you, my dear.”

She feels a little scrutinized, like a test subject. He was nice, though, and completely genuine in his intentions. He truly was interested in having them at the school. “What will we be expected to do at this school?” she finally asks.

He spreads his hands out a little. “Learn, of course. We will teach you everything that you have missed up until now. Math, reading, writing, science and of course how to control your powers. We have no expectation other than that. We’d like to help the two of you integrate into society and have a normal life,” he explains, expression gentle and kind. 

“We can both read and write in German and English,” she points out, proud. Damian had broken a lot of rules by teaching her what little he could. Even the alphas weren’t taught a complete education; they were expected to do heavy lifting and hard labor. Omegas, on the other hand, were not allowed to educate themselves.

“That is an excellent start,” he nods, smiling in a way that made her feel even more pride. “Do you have any dreams for the future?”

Future. The word sent a reverberation of shock through her system, much like an electric shock. That word had always had no meaning to her other than to state that tomorrow would happen, with or without her. Now, it held so many possibilities. 

A tear escaped down her face without warning. “I know it can be overwhelming,” Steve whispers, suddenly right beside her, resting a hand on her shoulder. He smelt like warmth and musk; he smelt like a solid rock she could lean on whenever she needed a little support. “It will be a vast change from where you were before but...you’re going to do fine, okay?”

She nods, looking up at the Professor. “There is a place for me and my brother?”

He nods his head. “Of course, there is always room. You will stay there full time until you are eighteen and deemed compatible with society. That will be SHIELD’s choice since they found you. I believe, though, Steve mentioned to me there would be opportunities for you in the organization, as well.”

She looks up at the tall man and he smiles sweetly, sending a soft thrill of happiness through her. An alpha’s smile could do wonderful and terrible things to an omega. “We could use that ability of yours when it comes to crowd control,” he explains, squeezing her shoulder before taking a step back when he felt comfortable that she was okay.

“They said they could probably use me too when it came to search-and-find missions,” Damian pipes up, excited. He was sitting on the bed next to her, his warmth welcome in the cold room.

It was scary but she knew this was her best shot for them to lead normal lives. They would never be normal but they could at least pretend on their own terms. “Okay, thank you, Professor. We would love to join your school,” she sighs gently in relief.

He smiles, nodding. “Wonderful, the doctors have said you could leave the hospital tomorrow. We already have rooms made up for the two of you; they are right next to one another. However, I’m afraid we cannot just keep calling you ‘she’ and ‘her’. Did you pick a name?”

“Yeah,” she smiles, proud again. “Evelin Jager.”

\---

Evelin poured herself into her studies as soon as she was settled into the institute. She had to catch up. She was so far behind on subjects that she hadn’t even given a thought about her whole life. Science was especially hard; Father had forbidden any science literature in the compound. He said that all people needed to know is that he was the chosen one; chosen by God to bring the largest evolution in history.

She was also very skittish around other people, still. It would take a long time for her to not flinch whenever someone, especially an alpha, reached for her or said her name. An unhappy accident with an alpha just a day after arriving here, had her wearing gloves to every class. Thankfully, a helpful woman who went by Rogue had clued her into the fashion statement, at least until she could learn to control her powers.

A smell drifts across the front lawn, catching her attention by the familiar way it made her insides relax. She looks up and smiles at the man coming her way. Steve had stopped visiting her every day and usually came out after work when he wasn’t on a mission once a week. He had been gone for nearly a week and a half this time around so seeing him made her happy.

He smelt fresh, like he had just gotten out of a shower, and was pleasantly musky today. His hands were in the pockets of his faded, well-worn jeans that hugged his muscular hips and, by the way several girls had already stopped to stare, buttox. He was wearing a plaid, flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, showing off his strong arms. They were probably her favorite part of him, other than that calming smile he was sending her way.

In no hurry, he made his way slowly to her, catching a lot of attention the whole time. She sets her science book down in front of her on the blanket she had brought out here so she didn’t get itchy from the grass. She quickly stuffed the other books into her book bag, a sweet gift from the very man coming her way.

“Hey, I won’t bother you if you’re studying,” he smiles, coming to a stop just a few feet away. The sun hit his blond hair just perfectly to show the small red highlights that were usually bleached out by the amount of time he stays in the sun. 

Evelin shakes her head with a chuckle. “No, I’ve got to retake a test on velocity. Come, sit,” she gestures, scooting over a little to allow him room to sit. He comes over and gracefully plops himself down within arm’s length. His warmth and scent washed over her like a wave. 

“Velocity, huh?” he hums, reaching to take the book. She had a hard enough time picking up the damn thing with two hands but here he was just grabbing it with one. “Are you having trouble with science?”

She nods with a sigh. “It was not something I was exposed to up until now. I’m just a little confused by it but I’ll be okay. I’m getting better at it!” she laughs, digging in her book bag to pull out her latest evaluation. “I’m almost up to grade level in everything else!”

Steve smiles warmly, making her insides do stupid things. “I’m glad you’re getting along great here, Evelin.”

Her name coming from his lips never ceased to make her feel...a lot of different things. It made her feel proud and happy and anxious and giddy and so many other things she had never experienced before. He was a light in her darkness; when she thought she wouldn’t do well, he always came around to reassure her.

“How are your therapy sessions going?” he asks after a moment, setting her book back down easily. 

She shrugs a little. “Uncomfortable but...I like her. She’s really nice and nonjudgmental. She talks to me like a human being and offers strategies to help,” she fiddles with the strap on her book bag. “I’ve got a lot of diagnoses, Steve. There are a lot of problems with me.”

He leans against the trunk of the tree they were sitting under and shrugs. “That’s just part of going through trauma. Every superhero that I know has some sort of mental issue. It’s just a job hazard,” he explains, smiling gently. “It’s just like anything else you need to overcome. It’s hard, but I know you’ll do great.”

Evelin swore she wouldn’t cry but she seemed to do that at least once every time he comes around. He probably found her unbearable to be around when she cries. He probably feels like she would be better off-

She reaches out to touch his hand but forgot about her glove. Not shocked, he reaches up to touch the exposed part of her arm. His pride in her, his acceptance of her and his sympathy for her drive away the condescending thoughts. He still cared for her; he still came around. He wouldn’t visit someone he didn’t care for; he had only been gone for a week and a half to save other people just like her.

“Don’t worry, I go through self-doubt too,” he whispers, pulling away when he felt her emotions shift back to positive. “I’ll always be here for you, Evelin. I’m only a phone call away.”

More tears trail down her face, unwanted but accepted. He was such a perfect soul. How had she gotten so lucky to have a friend like him? Just over half a year ago, she had been a slave to the Father and now...she was sitting at a school, with textbooks and Captain America.

Once they started, she couldn’t stop the flow and he easily wrapped an arm around her shoulder to pull her into his warmth and comfort. Instantly, she felt her body react to having a trusted alpha so close to her. She relaxed and the tears soon stopped.

“It’s okay to cry, Evelin,” he soothes, rubbing her back gently. People were looking at them weird but she didn’t give care. She had an alpha that she trusted, now, who took care of her and cared what she thought. “Just keep talking to your therapist. She’s going to help the most.”

Evelin nods her head, pulling away when she felt suitably comfortable. “I know, I’m trying.”


	2. Reprogram Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelin's next step is applying for SHIELD and getting some combat experience with the X-Men. Too bad in the middle of that she has to deal with Father and the Cult coming back out of the woodwork.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My inspiration for the chapter was "No Me Importa" by In this Moment.

** Chapter Two: **

_Reprogram Me_

~~~

“Evelin,” Steve chides as he walks me down the long hallways of the base of SHIELD. “You didn’t have to come on your birthday. It could have waited one day.”

She shakes her head, excited and nervous all at the same time. Her fingers tug on the gloves she had on to make sure they were covering every inch of her hands. She was wearing her nicest suit, which Professor Aurora had helped her pick out, and a pair of nice leather gloves that Beast had gotten her as an early birthday present.

“You know I wouldn’t be able to,” she laughs, fixing her short bangs so they laid the right way. Her hair was recently cut and hugged her head in a professionally short style that framed her face well. “I just want to get the paperwork done so I can help with the X-Men and start applying to colleges. I’m a little late.”

He smiles knowingly. “It’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with starting next semester, Evelin.”

The paused in front of a door and he opened it up for her. She walked into the room with a large round table with too many chairs around it. In one of the chairs was a blond man with purple glasses, black and purple uniform that hugged every muscle of his body, and a smug look on his face. He was very obviously an omega.

“Cap!” he smirks, pulling his boots off of the table and standing up. He moved around the table towards them. “You must be Evelin Jager. It’s nice to finally meet you. Steve has told me a lot about you!”

She flushes a little at the man’s devious smirk. “It’s a pleasure, Mr. Barton,” she smiles, trying to ignore the obvious embarrassment coming from Steve. If she looked, she was sure he’s cheeks would be red. It was one of the things she had come to like about him; big, bad Captain America still blushes when he’s embarrassed. Though, granted, with his fair skin, any kind of color would show.

“Clint is fine, Evelin,” he corrects her, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. “Come on, we’ve got lots of paperwork and I hate paperwork.”

Evelin nods, turning to look at Steve. “Thanks, I’ll call you when we’re done,” she smiles.

He nods his head and with a quick wave is gone, closing the door behind him. She walks over to the table with Clint and sees the large stack of paperwork awaiting them. Evelin had a feeling this was going to take a long time.

“Okay, so most of this is for you to take home with you to finish on your own time,” Clint explains, taking the first packet and setting it to the side in front of her. “This is all of the information about yourself. Just fill that out and bring your social security card and birth certificate when you turn it in.”

She takes the packet and flips through it a second. There was a background check and several forms about taxes and confidentiality agreements. It was all standard paperwork even or a regular job. 

“This is the test you need to complete to be accepted into SHIELD training. It’s really just simple high school stuff,” he explains easily, opening the booklet to show her all of the different parts. “The real test is during the initial training tests, which will be much harder and timed. So finish this and bring it in with your paperwork as well.

“The thing we need to talk about is this,” he states before pulling out a small booklet that had the words ‘OMEGA INFORMATIONAL PACKET’ on the front of it in large, capital letters. “Steve told me your abilities so I’m sure you already know I’m an omega. There are some rules and regulations that we have to follow to keep us safe and protected that alphas and betas don’t have to abide by.”

She feels a shudder of ir go down her spine. “That seems unfair,” she states before she can think about her words.

He chuckles a little. “Yeah, no shit,” he scoffs sarcastically. “It’s the rules though and until they change...we have to abide by them.”

Taking the booklet, she opens to the front page to look at the table of contents. There were rules to deal with aggressive alphas and rules for dealing with rutting alphas and rules for dealing with omegas in heat and rules for dealing with suicidal betas and… “Jesus,” she mutters, looking down the list. She even had to flip the page to complete the damn list. “Does the alpha handbook look like this?”

Clint makes a childish noise with his mouth. “No but they do have to do an omega sensitivity class that last for-fucking-ever!” he smirks, flipping to a specific page. “You can read over this in your own time but here’s what we need to talk about.”

He flips to a page that has the title:

**Emergency Alpha/Beta Contracts**

She read the beginning and felt herself grow a little queasy. “I’m confused,” she whispers, knowing full well that she wasn’t confused.

He places a hand on the book and sighs. “It’s backwards but I can state from experience that this policy has saved my ass a couple of times, Evelin. Basically, to become a SHIELD agent, you need to have an alpha or beta who is willing to fill out a contract that promises to help in a very specific form if you should go into heat during a mission,” he states firmly. “Listen, it’s stupid and I hate that I need it but it really has helped several times. Alphas and betas don’t have the same problems that we do when it comes to this sort of thing. We take an extra risk when we go on missions and it’s good to back a plan B just in case things go sideways.”

She felt her chest tighten and her heart palpitate. Quickly, she squashed the feeling of panic. The thought of having to put someone down to take care of her during her heat was...terrifying. “I-I don’t know anyone who I would trust,” she grits out slowly, fiddling with her gloves.

“It doesn’t have to be someone to have sex with,” he explains a little further. “It could be a trusted person to lock you away with some toys and give you food and water periodically. It doesn’t have to be something sexual, though, I’ll be honest...that’s the easiest and quickest way to get over your heat in the field.”

They sit in silence for a moment before Evelin shakes her head. “I don’t have someone like that,” she finally admits. She couldn’t think of anyone that she would trust to go through that with. It would be more involved than just sex or care. She had a lot of issues when it came to sex; she had a lot of triggers. That person would have to walk her through every step of the process and even after it was said and done would have to make sure she was okay. “I couldn’t put anyone through that.”

He leans his elbow on the table and rests his head in his hand. He had this understanding look on his face. “It’s required for admission into SHIELD training. You’ll need to find someone. Now, the contract is very in depth,” he continues, opening the contract to show several lined pages. “You write down everything that you’re willing to do and what’s not allowed. If any of those things are breached during the heat cycle then your contact has to suffer the legal repercussions.”

She nods her head, staring at the contract. “How long do I have to turn all of this in?” she finally finds the coherency to ask.

Clint points at a date on the top of the first packet. “You have two months to get this turned in, okay? So there’s no rush. Do you have any questions?”

Shaking her head, Clint nods his head and allows her to call Steve so he could come get her. His comforting smell was welcome in the stuffy, anxiety filled room. She hadn’t even realized she had been pumping out so many pheromones; she also wondered how Clint was so calm in a room with her. 

Steve smiles as she walks out of the room with her stack of paperwork. She tries to return the gesture but had a hard time. His brow furrows but he doesn’t say anything until they are outside of the building and into his car.

“Everything go well?” he finally asks, turning to look at her after he starts the car so that cold air pumps out of the vents. “You seem upset.”

She shakes her head but the tears fall anyways. “I can’t do this,” she whispers, covering her face with her gloved hands. Evelin felt defeated; she felt at a loss.

“Hey,” he whispers gently, reaching out to wrap a hand around her wrist so he could pull one of her hands away. “It’s not that bad. You’re going to do great.”

Evelin sucks in a breath a little in her sobbing. “It’s not that. I just...I can’t complete this paperwork. They need...I just can’t.” God, she couldn’t even get the words out of her mouth. How the fuck was she supposed to ask someone to take such a huge responsibility? She couldn’t ask that and she felt offended that she even needed someone to fill out that contract! This was completely different than what she was lead to believe. 

Steve pumps out calming pheromones and gently takes the paperwork. “Is it the contract?” he whispers, taking out the offending packet. She nods, unable to lie to him. If it were anyone else sitting there then she could push it off as something else; she would never lie to Steve. He had done so much for her. “Don’t you have someone at the school that you trust?”

She shakes her head furiously. “No, I-I couldn’t ask that of someone there, Steve,” she shudders, body trembling in the beginnings of a panic attack. She felt her throat tighten with the need to suck in air and she clamped down; she held her breath. Evelin refused to do this here. She wouldn’t let her body do this to her.

“Hey, hey,” he whispers, reaching out to pull her into a very awkward hug. “It’s okay, Evelin...it’s okay.” 

Breaking, she sobs into his shoulder. She let the attack rush out of her body in a rush of relief. He runs a hand down to pull one of her gloves off and holds her hand. His unerring confidence in her assaults her frayed system and she takes every ounce of it that she can. She shoved her insecurity, terror and uncertainty at him; he took it like a champ and merely pumped out comforting pheromones to combat her own.

“It’s okay,” he drones on until she can finally think straight. “It’s okay.”

She eases into him, wrapping an arm around his neck. “Thanks,” she whispers, turning her head so her nose wasn’t in the crook of his neck. She fought the urge to scent him; he smelt like strength and faintly of some kind of perfume. 

Slowly, they separated after a moment and she smiles shakily. He smiles back, brushing her bangs to the side gently with the back of his fingers. “Any time,” he chuckles, face lighting up with the action. He was so handsome when he laughed. He still had the contract on his lap and looked at it for a moment. He wanted to say something; she could smell it on him and feel it in the way he worked his jaw. She did that when she was trying to get something out to her therapist. 

“Steve?” she asks, taking her gloves off to touch his arm. A burst of uncertainty and hesitation is an odd taste on her tongue from the man; he is usually so sure of himself and confident. 

Then, life a fog clearing, he became sure. “I’ll be your emergency alpha.”

The words did a very good job of making her world turn upside down. She had to blink a couple of times to clear her vertigo. “Excuse me?” she squeaks, squeezing his arm just to make sure she was still connected with him. 

She was and he never felt so sure about anything. He was look at her right in the eyes and was just as solid as he always had been. “I’ll be your emergency alpha, Evelin,” he states again just as confidently. “You don’t have anyone else and I’ve been a support person for your therapy for almost a year now. It only makes sense.”

The panic she had shoved away was now welling up again, like blood in a reopened wound. She could feel it bleeding through her mind and taking over her senses. “S-Steve, you don’t have to do that,” she stammers out, already knowing he was completely serious. He didn’t have a bit of doubt in his mind about this decision; she could tell just by smelling his certainty that he wasn’t backing down.

He covers her hand with one of his own and nearly smothers her in calming pheromones. “Evelin,” he soothes, helping to fight back her rising terror. “The likelihood that you’ll need my help in that way is...slim. It’s more than just for your heat. If you were to get hurt and need special care...I’d be there to make any decisions that your Power of Attorney can’t make. Okay? It’s not that bad. We’ll take the contract to your therapist and she can help us fill it out.”

After a few minutes of silence on her end and thinking through her other options, she came to the conclusion that he was right. She did trust him with her life; she trusted him with every other part of her life...why not this one? If he were willing then it wasn’t that big a deal. 

Finally, she nods her head, smiling thankfully. “Than you, Steve. You’re amazing,” she whispers, taking back the contract.

“I know, and don’t you forget it!” he teases, earning a playful elbow to the arm as he started the car.

~~~

Even after turning in her paperwork, she was still a little uneasy about putting Steve’s name on it. They had sat down with her therapist and talked through all of the forms. It had taken forever because of all of the triggers they had to talk through. There had been a rather healthy list of things Steve wouldn’t be able to bring around her during an emergency situation. Not that he would ever bring tasers or knives into the bedroom but...her therapist thought it might help if she wrote them down. 

Honestly, she didn’t feel any different. She knew Steve would never judge her but...it still hurt going over all of the reasons she had scars all over her body. It had kind of made her happy to be completely honest with her friend.

Even with all that she had done in the last few days, it didn’t exempt her from training. She was currently being yelled at by a burly, hairy Wolverine to run faster with a group of other mutants. Her time needed to be set for the SHIELD test that was taking place next year. She also had to get her push-ups, sit-ups and accuracy with several different types of guns.

She panted as they were pushed faster. She wouldn’t let anything get in her way. Evelin could do this. She had been through so much already that it wouldn’t be right to stop now. Her dream was within her grasp; she could get there if she just put in the work. 

“Stop! Water break! You have five minutes before combat training begins!” Wolverine shouts as they all stop running and groan. “Jager, I want to see you.”

Looking up from her water she nods and jogs over. “Yes, sir?”

“We’re going to start using you on missions,” he grunts, gesturing at her water so she would take a sip while they were talking. “We fig’er you need the practice if yer going to be doing SHIELD things. You’ve been moved to the simulation room for combat training. They’re expecting ya, go.”

Anxiety and excitement filled her system as she nods with a quick thank you and rushes towards the school. She runs all the way through the school until she gets to the elevator where a very familiar red, white and blue clad man was waiting. Her smile is wide and excited as she stops just a few feet short of the man.

The man smiles at her, half of his face hidden by his helmet. “Ready for combat training?” he asks pushing the button for the elevator.

Nodding, she steps into the chrome elevator when it opens up. “I’m a little nervous. What are you doing here?” she asks, curiously. He didn’t usually show up in full uniform when he came to the school. Then again, his main reason for showing up was for her.

He gives a sly smirk. “I’m leading the training today,” he explains casually. 

She feels her stomach drop. “Now I’m really nervous,” she mutters, crossing her arms.

His face eases a little. “Don’t be, Evelin, it’ll go fine.”

They ride down to the lower levels of the school and the door opens to show a long chrome hallway that had always smelt like pure mystery to Evelin. She was happy to be down here for something other than a tour. She could hear others down the hallway and it made the skin on the back of her neck prickle with a sickening mixture of excitement and anxiety. 

He leads her into the training room where two groups of people stood. On one side were the X-Men in their uniforms and on the other was a group of Avengers. She felt suddenly out of place as too many sets of eyes turn to look at the two of them. She recognized all of the mutants: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, Nightcrawler, Shadow Cat and Colossus.The were all top level mutants who were seasoned in fighting Avengers.

Evelin definitely wasn’t.

The Professor rolled up behind them and smiles up at the woman. “Ready, Evelin?” he asks, gesturing towards the X-Men. 

She follows him and chuckles nervously. “I’m a little underdressed, Professor,” she points out, earning a few laughs from her teammates.

Cyclops, who hadn’t laughed, shakes his head a little. “There’s no need for a uniform. It’ll be a short exercise,” he states stoically.

She nods her head. Evelin was pretty sure she would be better at this without the uniform; hell, she wasn’t sure if they had a uniform that would work with her powers. 

Glancing over at the other team. She could see Clint in his Hawkeye uniform, the Hulk was pretty obvious because of his shere size and coloring, Falcon stood by Ironman who was laughing with Wasp at something Antman had said. Seven vs. seven, it seemed. She caught Ste-Captain America’s eyes and he gave her a reassuring smile before responding to something Falcon had asked. 

Cyclops was speaking in his leaderly voice now she she turned to look at the man. He was going over the game plan, which involved a lot of him and Jean Grey as some kind of team. Colossus and Kitty were another set of partners who needed to work off of each other to take down the Hulk. Storm obviously needed no partner and that left Evelin with Nightcrawler who was smiling that bright smile. 

Evelin didn’t mind this partner. “Sorry, you’re babysitting,” she smiles only slightly joking.

His yellow eyes glitter as he chuckles. “I don’t mind, Evelin. It’s better zan being hit by ze Hulk,” he points out, moving to get into place at the far side of the room. 

She pressed her back to the wall that was had been instructed to stand against and steeled herself. Easily, she took stock of the battlefield. Ironman would be off limits to her, obviously. Falcon probably had a mask of some kind would have been briefed on her powers so he was a good person to stay away from as well. Hulk would be distracted and she doubt he’d come after her or even be affected by her pheromones. She could definitely take Clint, Antman and Wasp if they were out in the open. 

Looking at the Captain, she knew she probably couldn’t take him down. Honestly, she’d probably tire herself out before she pumped out enough to affect him. She would need to stay away from him as well.

The Professor’s voice echoed from the speakers in the walls and she could see him sitting in the control room that was up on the next level. She could see him through the window and he was smiling. “Commence with the training session.”

Chaos erupted in the room as both sides attacked with their own plan. She started to focus on her job. Letting out a breath of air, she starts to expand her area of effect. She started with something simple, a basic bubble that made people feel uncomfortable. It was a deterrent but if she needed to she could ramp it up until no one would enter her bubble. 

The hardest part of controlling her powers was during times of stress, which, she would definitely define right then as a moment of stress. Her area of effect worked on all who stepped inside of it; she couldn’t mark certain people as allies or foes so anyone could be affected by her abilities. Pinpointing people with her powers was another mess to deal with too. She had to be pretty close for the most potent use of her abilities.

Nightcrawler springs into action as one of Clint’s arrows head straight for them. He grabs her arm and the loud pop of their teleportation has Evelin’s equilibrium doing circles. It was all sulphur and loud noises until they poofed back into existence right behind Clint. Evelin was near useless but even with that she knew to grab hold of Clint right where his shirt cut off to show his bare arms.

He gags, hunching over as she shoves every ounce of nausea into him. “Oh God,” he groans, reaching back to swat at her. She bats his hand away easily and focuses on putting him to sleep. He swoons, trying again to swat at her but instead tilts forward and passes out.

“Hang on,” Nightcrawler whispers before teleporting again.

This time, she couldn’t hold back and ended up throwing up in the corner of the room where there seemed to be a perfectly placed trash can. It was a small dignity to not have to vomit all over the floor in front of so many people. “We should have practiced this,” she groans.The blue mutant chuckles softly. “Yes, I agree,” he nods, rubbing her back even as the battle continued behind them. “Come on, you’ll get used to it now that you’ve emptied your stomach.”

She didn’t believe him but allowed herself to be teleported across the battle room. He was right; it felt a lot easier without a full stomach. She went about controlling the battlefield from different angles with Nightcrawler. He would blink her across the room to use her pheromones to distract the enemy and then pop back when things got too heated. Nightcrawler was an amazing martial fighter even with being so scrawny compared to some of the heavy hitters. He did a great job of protecting her blind spots.

“I got her!” Evelin heard someone shout just as something hit her in the gut with far too much force. She feels the wind leave her lungs as she is thrown back to skid across the floor. Her head spun as she tried to gain back her focus and orientation. A strong, fuzzy hand wrapped around her wrist and hauled her to her feet with one arm tucked across shoulders.

Nightcrawler teleports her away so she could take a moment to gain her breathing back. “Fuck that hurt,” she gasps, holding her stomach where she knew a bruise was forming. “What happened?”

“Antman,” Nightcrawler explains, his eyes staying on the battle in front of them. “I can’t see him very well so he could be coming back.”

She takes a deep breath in through her nose and tries to pinpoint where the small man was hiding. Instead, she got a nose full of something different. Her eyes finally land on the swarm of ants that are constantly moving underneath the feet of the combatants. Smirking, she crouches down and places her hand in the skittering swarm until they started to smell more like her.

They started to undulate until they started to crawl the opposite direction and began climbing up the legs of their opponents. She had heard that Antman controlled the little things with pheromones. If that was the case then his pheromones were nowhere near as strong as she was; this little thing she could use to her advantage.

There was screaming as ants started to crawl up into people’s uniforms. “I’m not doing it! I swear!” Antman cries as he suddenly appears not two feet away from Evelin. 

She takes a running start and using some of the moves taught by the more nimble mutants, she tackles and rolls the man so that her knees were digging into his shoulders. Reaching down, she rips his mask off of his face before he can even scream and puts him to sleep. She tosses his helmet to the side and eases her control of the ants a little; she was starting to feel the strain of her pheromone control in the tightness of her muscles.

“Watch out!” she heard just in enough time to duck when something buzzed past her head. Her eyes adjust in just enough time to catch a little yellow uniformed woman flutter past her again. Wasp also had a mask on; she would need to get that off of the tiny bug before she could do anything about her.

“Nightcrawler!” she shouts, even as he is teleporting to her side to get her some distance. “We need to get Wasp’s mask off of her face! I can take care of her after that!”

He nods, looking up at Storm who was creating her namesake right around the gigantic Hulk. “Storm, we need a good wind!” he shouts up at the woman.

She smirks, holding out her arms to create the strongest gusts Evelin had ever felt. Her body starts to slide across the floor as she covers her face with her arms. She only goes a few inches before her body hits a wall over cold metal; glancing up, she sees Colossus standing there with a smile on his face. “Hold on,” he states, placing his huge hands on her shoulder to keep her in one place.

“There!” Evelin shouts as the Wasp grows from her tiny form to try and stay in one spot. “Toss me!”

Colossus smirks and picks her up by her waist so he can toss her. The thought hadn’t even crossed her mind that this might be a bad idea but it’s too late as she’s careening through the air towards the confused Wasp. She reaches out and grabs onto the small woman as she makes impact and shoves her fingers into the mask’s edges so she can throw it to the side. Letting out a gasp of triumph, she touches the woman’s face and she’s sleeping before they even hit the ground.

She stands quickly, feeling the rush of adrenaline, as she hears a loud roar that makes her heart stop. Shit, she was right in the path of a charging Hulk. Turning, she starts running, vaguely noticing the wind had stopped even as she shoved between Steve and Colossus. “Move!” she shouts, ducking through the two men even as the Hulk was catching up.

“Hulk, back down!” Steve shouts over the roar even.

Evelin smells sulphur and sees Nighcrawler just a few feet ahead. “Kurt!” she shouts, face read and real fear starting to flush her system. 

“Evelin!” he reaches his hand out.

Her fingers are mere inches from his when he is grabbed and tossed by a flying Ironman. “Don’t protect her, Cap!” Ironman shouts so loudly she can hear him through his mask. “She’s got to learn how to get out of situations like this.”

She huffs even as Kitty suddenly darts past her, grabbing onto her arm and dragging her to the side as the Hulk rampages through her previous spot. Evelin shouts as Kitty drags her through Steve like he were made of air, which, honestly, was super weird. “Come on, Evelin,” Kitty shouts as they run. “You can put the Hulk down!”

Evelin highly doubted that she could do such a fantastical thing but she didn’t have any other choice. Stopping, she turns and sees the Hulk tossing Cyclops and Colossus like they are mere dolls and turns his angry eyes on her. He starts to move until he’s charging her.

Throwing caution to the wind, she starts pumping out an absurd amount of pheromones to put the giant to sleep. Someone shouted her name and there was the sound of dropping bodies as she stared the giant down. She felt her pupils dilate and her nostrils flared as her skin tingled with the shear power she was using. It seemed as hopeless a task as downing an elephant with a BB gun.

Then she saw him falter and it gave her the resolve she needed to work harder. She opened her mouth and let out a high, loud shriek even as the Hulk was just a few feet away. At the last second, the giant flops to the ground and is out. Evelin feels her insides twist with pain but the triumphant feeling was stronger. She gives a loud laugh of shock and excitement as she looks around.

Everyone without a mask was knocked out cold and Ironman, Falcon and Steve were standing there looking every bit as shocked as she did. Where had Steve kept that mask? She realizes in a moment that it’s her against three enemies who could very easily take her out.

Steeling herself, she takes a step towards Steve first and starts charging. Something wasn’t right...she felt a little funny and was doing something that was uncharacteristically reckless. Steve turned towards her even as she was swinging her leg around to kick at him. She wouldn’t stop; she would succeed.

Steve was saying something as he batted her leg away like it meant nothing. He was grabbing her arms to stop her. He stops an elbow as it was swung at him and he very easily shoved her away as she tried to knee him in a very delicate place. “Evelin!” he’s shouting but her ears are clogged with the sound of her heart beat, which roared like an angry sea. She felt weird but if she just fought through it...if she didn’t...she would…

She felt something wet dripping down the side of her face and when she bothered touching it her hand came back with blood. Her head spun in shock as her body went into survival mode. Hands, gloved and strong, were touching her and she screamed flipping the person over her shoulder in a roll she had learned from Wolverine. There was a grunt but she could still feel the blood.

Her mind was screaming that she was dying; her stupid brain made the scar on her neck burn with an old memory of pain and wetness. She only finds it in her to stop when two warm, powerful hands touch her cheeks gently. Her eyes look up to see Steve without his helmet or mask on staring down at her with worried blue eyes. 

_Safe._

“I’ve got you,” he whispers, pumping alpha pheromones into her. “You’re okay. You’re just tired and used too much of yourself.”

_Comfortable._

She smiles, letting him guide them to the ground so she was sitting. Her world stopped spinning and she was able to look around. People were getting to their feet slowly. “I’m sorry,” she whispers, voice hoarse and scratchy. “I went too far.”

He smiles, pulling her closer so he could hug her tightly. “No, you did great!” he chuckles, letting her settle in his lap as grogginess started to wash over her. “You put down the Hulk, that’s rather impressive.”

She hums but slowly starts to drift off until she’s asleep.

~~~

Steve covers the young woman with a blanket after the doctor got her cleaned up and checked everything to make sure she was okay. Some of the pores on her body, mainly her cheeks and necks, had started bleeding but the doctor said that was just because she had overused her powers. She would be fine though probably tired for the next couple of days.

Steve stepped out of the room and smiled down at the Professor as he closed the door to the room. “Do you think she’s ready?” he asks as they move down the hallway together. 

The Professor is quiet for a moment until they reach his office and he gestures for Steve to enter first. Steve is more than happy to flop on one of the man’s oversized couches; his body was aching from the fight, which didn’t often happen. It was more from trying to keep an eye on Evelin, which, he was kind of embarrassed for doing. She needed to learn how to handle herself against a plethora of different opponents; it still didn’t keep him from being a little overprotective. 

“I worry about her insatiable need to do well and prove herself,” the Professor admits after getting himself situated. “Our sessions have been very good for her but I see a little darkness in her as well. She has this need to prove herself so much that sometimes she’ll lash out at those around her with unnecessary force. The alphas around here give her plenty of space for the amount of times she’s put them down for even looking at her the wrong way.”

Steve nodded. “I think it’s a little disconcerting but I think she’ll grow out of it the more time she gets with the outside world. She just needs time, Professor.”

He looks out the window of his office for a moment before nodding. “I’ll put her in some of the smaller missions, Captain. It’ll be good for her to get some real combat experience.”

“Thank you, Professor,” Steve smiles, knowing she would be fine.

~~~

Tugging on the tight, black uniform, she couldn’t help but feel nervous. They were in the jet that they hid under the school on their way to a mission location. This was her first time being included in the business of X-Men but she was deemed ready by all of her instructors. She had been working hard to keep her powers under control and so far, it had worked. Her training included a lot of body strengthening exercises so that she would be able to keep up with her increased output of energy. She had only passed out once so far!

She had been briefed about the situation and SHIELD was apparently in on this mission as well because it was in such a large area. Mesmero had escaped prison and was in the middle of downtown Chicago, turning the whole place upside down for kicks. They were being dispatched because he was a mutant and this was usually something the X-Men handled. Evelin, honestly, was a little shocked that SHIELD was okay with this band of mutants but, oh well.

They started to descend into the city and landed on a helipad on top of the hospital. She unbuckled when everyone else did, heading for the back of the jet where the ramp was lowering. When they were all out of the jet, she noticed the strange, smell in the air. It wasn’t the jet’s exhaust like she originally thought but…

“This place smells like fear,” she whispers to no one in particular but Scott looks at her. 

“The people are being mind controlled by Mesmero. Professor X believes he’s doing this as a distraction for something. Crowd Control and Nightcrawler will be on crowd detail; they’ll be leading civilians out of the mutant’s influence.”

He continued on but Evelin (AKA Crowd Control) was too busy looking down at the street where people were milling around in chaotic ways. Someone was flailing their arms and another was sitting on the ground, sobbing into their hands. These people stink of fear and terror.

“Alright, let’s go,” Cyclops finally states.

“May I?” Nightcrawler asks with a sweet smile. Evelin nods and allows him to wrap an arm through hers so they could teleport away. 

The smell of sulfur and a tugging of her insides always made her want to scream but she was so used to this it was second nature. They landed down near the edge of the city, just a few blocks from the roof and Nightcrawler steps behind the woman so she could do her job. Taking a deep breath, she starts to scent the air with her pheromones. 

Luring, encouraging and enticing the people within her reach to come her way. Behind her was the SHIELD medical team waiting to help; she was to get the civilians there so they could be helped by the doctors. She felt a little bit of sweat starting to form across her forehead but the first of the civilians were already starting to amble their way. 

She starts to walk forward, weaving between people to touch them on exposed skin so they continue going even when they reach the edge of her bubble. They were like zombies, eyes glazed over and bodies limping along pathetically. It seemed like Mesmero had gotten to quite a bit of people. 

Nightcrawler was transporting some of the stragglers to the medical tent when she smelt something drift across the air. It smelt like gasoline and sour chaos. “Get down!” Nightcrawler shouts from a long distance away.

She screams when something explodes just a few feet away. Her arms go up to protect her face as shrapnel cut through her skin. Evelin’s body feels hot as she is knocked back by the blast. The air was stifling and she was in a lot of pain as she rubbed the back of her head where she hit the ground. 

“It’s about time you woke up,” she hears a very familiar voice scoff.

Shocked, she looks up to find herself in the main building of the compound. Father was standing in front of her with a bloody knife in his hand. “Father,” she whispers, feeling sick all of a sudden as her eyes take in the white dress that was spotted in blood. “No, I’m not here.”

He sneers, demeaning. “Of course you are, Whore. Where else would you be? Who else would want a filthy omega like you? No one!” he shouts, slicing at her. She throws her arms up and screams when the knife slices through her forearm. 

“NO!” she cries out, feeling cowed by his alpha scent. “I’m Evelin Jager! This is just an illusion!” Half of her really wanted to believe that; the other half was super convinced she was still back at the compound. 

The Father’s laugh makes her skin crawl in disgust. “Omegas don’t get real names, you curr! You’re nothing more than a whore! A body for breeding and using. Nothing more!”

He grabs the back of her head by a whole handful of hair and yanks her head back. She screams, reaching out to grab his shoulders so she doesn’t crumble backwards. Tears slip down her face as he runs the knife across her cheek slowly, allowing blood to well and spill from the cut. It was like fire across her face and she dared not move for fear of more pain.

“You will never escape me,” he whispers before her stress causes her to pass out.

~~~

Waking up with a start, she jerks upright and has to choke back a scream. The room she was in was metal with no windows but plenty of vents at the top of the almost twelve foot high walls. She was wearing a white smock, almost like a bag, and her feet were bare so that two shackles could keep her pinned to the floor. 

She could smell him. He was all over this cold metal room and it made her insides curl with disgust and stress. She was back where she started. The whole thing was a dream; it had to be. Steve would never let her get captured by the cult and taken back. He had been there somewhere.

The door clicks open and she’s on her feet in a moment so she can back away from the tall man who walked through. He was wearing one of his usual cotton uniforms. They were usually tan or some other neutral color and the clothes were a little big on him, making him seem relaxed and calm and welcoming. She knew him for the wolf that he was, even when he was dressed in sheep's clothes. 

His soft brown hair was parted to one side with ease and those errant hairs that tickled the bridge of his nose made his blue eyes bright and piercing. He had a gentle smile on his face that made her skin crawl. He was trying to put her at ease; he was pumping out a lot of calming pheromones to try and cull the fierce unease that was swallowing her whole.

“Stay away from me!” she screams, sounding terrified when she was going for intimidating. She started to pump out pheromones but they seemed to dissipate in a moment as the fans behind the vents kicked on. 

Areli chuckles, amused. “Now, that’s no way to speak to your Father.”

She flinches when he takes a step forward, causing him to tisk softly. “I’m not your slave anymore! I won’t be who I was!”

He seems confused. “Slave? Who you were? You were in a coma for a long time.”

Evelin growls. “Coma?! I was saved by the Avengers and brought into the real world! The world you hid me from for my entire life! I have a name now!”

His eyes fill with concern and for a moment she believed it. “Sweet omega, you’ve been in a coma since I punished you for your defiance,” he soothes, dipping his voice low to try and manipulate her. Too bad the vents worked just as well on his pheromones as her own. 

A spike of pain went through her head as memories started to shudder and seize in her mind’s eye. She saw everything through tunnel vision as she recalled being in a bed; she recalled looking around with sleepy eyes. Areli was there and so was...Alexis. Had it been a coma after all?

“You tried to kill me with a hatchet!” she spits, shaking her head of the memories and moving across the wall when he tried to get closer. “Don’t you fucking touch me! I didn’t dream everything! Steve will come for me! You’ll see, he’ll come!”

Areli’s hand is lightning fast as he reaches out to grab her by the short hair at the top of her head. She screams, getting shoved to her knees by the stronger man. “You are a very pesky omega. Having dreams of some flashy alpha saving you. You are MY omega!” he snarls, yanking at her hair to drag her across the ground. He tosses her like she weighed nothing, watching her slide across the tile floor. “You dreamed every second of that silly fantasy. As if anyone would care for a useless, dirty creature like you! In the real world, you would be a freak and an abomination!”

She slips as she tries to scurry away from his anger. He grabs the chain connected to her ankle and pulls her across the floor. Her head snaps back and hits the hard ground as she’s dragged across the ground. The back of his hand makes a loud noise as it slaps the side of her face viciously. She screams and tries to defend herself from the onslaught of blows that follow. 

A well placed punch lands on her cheek, knocking her down so he could crouch and slam the back of her head against the floor by her hair. Her vision swam and she felt nauseous. “You are nothing but garbage and filth,” he growls, holding her down easily. “No one cares about you. You are something to be used and when I grow tired of your defiance...I’ll end you.”

He shoves her away and stands up to go to the door. Her body was bruised and trembling; there were tears running down her face. “Your fantasies will only hurt you,” he smirks, at the door. “Best to forget your coma dreams and come back to the real world.”

The door slams shut and she is left there in the silence. She scoots back to the wall and wraps her arms around her legs, desperate to stop her body from shaking apart. Her tears were hot against her cheeks; her insides cold and empty. Was it all a dream? Had she imagined Steve? Had she just wanted him, someone so perfect and sweet, to exist so badly that her brain had came up with him?

Shaky visions of Mindwipe placing a cold washcloth against her forehead suddenly flitted across her mindseye. She could feel the tubes coming from her arms; she could shakily see her head moving this way and that as she tried to bring herself away from her coma. There wasn’t a Captain America; Hawkeye didn’t exist; she wasn’t going to SHIELD; and she was home.

NO. She would not believe it. Steve Rogers, Captain America, was real and he was coming to get her. He would be here any moment, bursting through that door in a blaze of red, white and blue. He would see her and his eyes would widen with fear and sympathy. His hands would be strong when he broke the chains but gentle when he went to carry her out of the metal room.

A sob cut through the silence, she was so desperate for him to exist. If he didn’t, she would just choke herself on her chains. So much hope had come from Steve’s sweet, calm, sympathetic demeanor. She had never been treated so nicely as he had treated her. Her brother loved her and cared for her but he had been afraid of Father for obvious reasons.

“Steve,” she whispers, sobbing gently into her knees. “Steve, I need you.”

It felt like an eternity before the door opened again. She quickly scrambled to her feet as Father came through the door with another man. Her eyes shift from man to man, fearful but determined to put up a better fight this time. She had to survive long enough for Steve to get here. This time, she wouldn’t forget her training.

“What an ugly dress you have her in, Areli,” the unknown man scowls, smelling of aftershave and alpha pheromones. “She is a pretty thing though.”

He was a tall, broad shouldered man with styled black hair and bright green eyes. His suit looked like it cost more than a year's tuition at Yale. Obviously, this was a rich benefactor. 

“I am not a thing,” she snaps, defiant. 

Father doesn’t look happy but the man tilts his head back and laughs. It sounded genuine and kind of nice. “And feisty, apparently!” he comments, crossing his arms. “It will be entertaining to tame her.”

“She is quite the defiant omega but, I promise, she will satisfy every alpha urge during her heat,” Father smiles, looking cool, confident and composed. She wanted to cut it off of him; she wanted to gouge it off of him in an instant. 

Heat. Shit. 

How many days had it been since she had been brought here? Doctor Whitaker had put her on suppressants once she was up to a healthy weight but if she didn’t take them within two days then she could go into heat. She didn’t want to go into heat here. The thought was a waking nightmare.

“How long until her heat?” the suited man asks, never taking his eyes off of the chained woman.

Father looks at her. “A day or two, at the most, I’m going to leave two alpha guards in here with her so that they can kick start the process.”

The man nods, “Very good, you know how to get into contact with me.”

Then, they were gone. She felt violated already. They had spoken about her as if she were something to barter but, then again, this was no different from before Steve had saved her. Now, though, she didn’t like it one bit. She wanted to rip them both to shreds.

The door clicks open and Father comes inside with two masked alphas behind him. They were very obviously in their prime; they smelt pungent and raw. They couldn’t have been more than 18 years old; they looked intimidating with the gas masks on their faces.

“These two gentlemen will be your guards. They’ll help get your heat kickstarted,” he smirks before turning to exit.

The room is very quickly filled with the smell of viable alpha. She knew that this was going to be very bad if she didn’t get out of this room. The suppressants she had been on would keep her okay for a few days but with this kind of catalyst...she wasn’t sure how long she would last. She looks at the two men who had very large guns in their hands. The guns were diagonal across their chests and were very intimidating.

She decides it would be best not to mess with the men. 

With no way to tell time in this box of a room, she finds herself driven nearly insane with the silence, scents and anxiety. She still had jumpy memories of being in a bed for far too long to content with as well. It was too convenient, in her opinion. Besides, she knew when a telepath was messing around in her head. Steve was coming and there wasn’t a thing Mindwipe could do to stop her from getting to him.

It wasn’t too long, though, before she started feeling the cramping in her abdomen that signaled the start of a heat cycle. 

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Her head was bowed over her knees so she was able to look up at the two men from below her bangs. They had been as still as statues the whole time; they hadn’t said a single word to anyone. Was the door behind them locked? Probably.

She saw it though, glinting behind the gun’s barrel, just barely peeking out: A ring of keys. Those must be the keys to the lock on the door. There was a handle and a keyhole right above it. If she could just get those keys away from the guards. 

This would have to be done carefully, very carefully. 

It was getting hot in the room, sweat was already starting to pour down her back. She allowed herself a little, faked, whine, barely audible. The men made no signal that they had heard even when she threw her head back against the metal wall behind her. She had sweat dripping down her neck from the sheer heat of the room; obviously the vents had been closed to make sure none of the alpha pheromone got out. 

Making another sound, she slides up the wall so she can pace around the room. Her feet, which had at first been freezing, were now slick with sweat just like the rest of her and it made things so much harder. The men were well out of arm’s reach from her chain length but she wanted to look as desperate as possible. They needed to break before she could leave. 

They never moved.

She makes needy noises, tugging at her dress helplessly. If those stupid masks were off, these two men wouldn’t stand a chance. She just needed to get them close enough to get those damn things off.

Even if it were an act, she could already feel the heat starting to set in. She could feel the cramps getting worse and could feel her body starting to grow ready. It was uncomfortable to feel the dampness starting to coat her thighs. She starts to put out as much sleep pheromone as she could while they stood stoically. She would have them down soon.

“No,” she moans, low and heady as she possibly could muster. They didn’t move. Sliding down the wall, she reaches down and pulls her dress up over her head. The sudden nakedness makes her skin burst in goosebumps. “Please…” 

There, just a little, she saw one of them flinch. She gave another plea, going to all fours so she could crawl as close to them as possible, reaching out. “Please...I can’t take it...Alpha.” 

That does it. The first one crouches down and reaches out. Closer, closer…

She swipes the man’s mask right off of his face and, having already scented the room, he falls flat on his face, asleep. She looks up to find the barrel of a gun in her face and whimpers. The man growls something in German that she would never allow another man to say before she very quickly disarms him. 

He seems shocked as she holds the gun in her hands. “Get on the ground!” she shouts in German, growling. He hesitates. She lowers the gun and shoots him in the leg. His scream gives her a little bit of satisfaction. “Hands on your head or I’ll blow your fucking head off next!”

His hesitation turns to submission as he puts his hands behind his head. “You’re a dead omega,” he spits, right before she rips the mask off of his face and he passes out.

“Better to die on my own terms,” she mutters, startled when sirens go off. “Shit.” 

Tearing the keys off of the guy’s belt, she unlocks her chains, then the door and clears the hallway like she was taught by the X-Men. No one was there in the flashing red lights of the hallway. That was odd. She could have sworn there would be more-

A rather terrible cramp has her doubled over like someone had punched her in the stomach. It was getting bad. She needed to get out of there and somehow contact SHIELD. Limping, she awkwardly made her way down the hall that smelt less of men and more of fresh air. Everything was metal in this place so it was hard to get a good scent reading.

She hadn’t gone too far when shouts told her to halt. Having already pumped out enough pheromones to down a herd of elephants, the men didn’t get too far around the corner before they were all in a heap on the floor. Fucking morons, they knew what she could do but only gave masks to the guards? Father was getting lazy. Perhaps cocky.

Her legs were starting to get heavy as she ran, sweat dripping down her body. There was slick starting to drip down her thighs so it was making everything just so damn difficult. She was just a few hours away from a full blow heat cycle. But, she had to get out of here. She would deal with the heat later.

She could smell the fresh air coming up even as she was scenting the air with as much sleep pheromone as she could muster. It was starting to take a toll on her as she heard a commotion up ahead. She pressed her back against a wall and took a look around the corner just as Hawkeye backed into her.

“Shit!” he shouts before seeing her standing there, naked and trembling with the gun in her hands. “Evelin? Oh my God, you’re naked and...damn, you’re in heat.”

Thank God he had a small SHIELD issue mask to keep from fainting from her pheromones. Thank God she hadn’t imagined everything about the real world. Steve was here somewhere; he had brought SHIELD and a small portion of the Avengers. He cared for her; he really did care.

She felt her legs give out as she crashed to her knees. “Woah!” Hawkeye gasps, reaching out to try and catch her. She was too slick with sweat. “Girl, you smell. We need to get you to a medical jet.”

He threaded one arm under her shoulders so he could pick her up. She tried to work her legs but they were jelly; she was aching in the most intimate of places now. “Where’s Steve?” she whispers into the other omega’s ear as they traverse the battlefield. She couldn’t focus on one thing.

“He’s around,” Clint grumbles, pausing to haphazardly shoot an arrow. “Think you can wait just a little while longer before becoming completely useless? We could use some of that sleep pheromone.”

Her head was full of fluff and cotton by this point but she nods. Steeling herself, she starts to saturate the air around her, watching as people dropped like flies. Others, part of SHIELD or the Avengers, were all wearing masks so they just kind of turned to look at Clint holding their objective. She groans as the exertion makes her cramps worse but she keeps going until her very breaking point.

“Okay, okay, you can stop, Evelin,” Clint tells her gently, starting to move again. “Don’t hurt yourself. Who is your emergency contact for your heat cycle?”

She laughs, the sound giddy and drunk, as her head lolls back. “Steve Rogers,” she gets out, though slurred.

“I know that’s who you want, Evelin, but who do you have on your list? Who has the contract?” Clint chuckles, the world growing dark as they get into the medical jet.

Another laugh, this one louder and more desperate. “My contact _is_ Steve Rogers! He’s got the contract!” she giggles maniacally as someone is there checking her arm with a cuff that gets really tight suddenly. 

“Fuck,” Clint mutters and then he’s gone.

There are doctors all around her, working to make sure she was healthy. She had a needle in her arm, allowing for a drip to hydrate and feed her. She hadn’t eaten at all since she had gotten here, her muddled brain noted. Her body was growing hot and tired and...sticky.

These all came right before the need.

“Evelin!” she heard his voice shout as he entered the jet just before it closed off and started humming. “God, what did they do to you?”

“Steve,” Evelin heard herself whisper right before his scent hit her like a brick wall. “Oh.” Her insides cramp and then she’s hit with a burst of need, heady and wickedly sharp. It bursts right down her spine until it hits her core. She _needs_ him. He smells like alpha and comfort and strength and solid. “God I need...I need…”

He grabs her hand and runs his fingers through her sweaty hair. “I know, Evelin, we’re going to a safehouse now. It’ll be better once we’re there. They gave you a sedative to help get you there. You might fall asleep.”

“Smell good…” she whispers, pulling him down so she can smell him better. He was musky and reacting to her heat pheromones. God he was Heaven. He smelt like everything she needed; she knew that if she could just get him to mount her then she would be fine. 

Too bad she fell asleep right then.


	3. Sexual Hallucination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelin, having gone into heat, is now taken to a SHIELD safe house with her emergency alpha, Steve. And Evelin must pass her SHIELD test.

**Chapter 3**

_Sexual Hallucination_

He got her into the safe house as soon as the jet landed. It had been on autopilot the whole time, the coordinates entered by the medical staff. Evelin smelt too good as he carried her into the small, two-story house. It was one of those houses that SHIELD kept all around the world so that if a situation like this arose they would be prepared. 

He took her to the bedroom and laid her down on top of the blankets. Her skin was burning up like she was feverish but he knew better. She was pale and there was a sheen of sweat across her body. She had ugly black and yellow bruises on her ribs, legs and jaw. But, even through all of that, she was beautiful.

Her dark brown hair was stark against the white blankets of the bed and her body had definitely filled out to a lovely hourglass figure. She was healthy and very, very much in heat right then. The smell of her soaking through the entire room, driving him crazy with want. 

Together their scents were an intoxicating mix. He had always been told he was pretty pungent an alpha because of the serum; there wasn’t a person around that couldn’t tell he was an alpha just by being around him. If that were the case then she matched him in potency. She was very obviously an omega and had started using citrus candles in her room to make it less overwhelming. 

He grabbed a bottle of water from the small fridge under the bedside table and very gently tried to wake the girl. No, she wasn’t a girl. She was eighteen now, though barely. She was a woman.

She groans, pitiful, and turns over to look at him. Her eyes are hooded but even so, her eyes were a dark, vivid blue that pierced right through him. She was in full heat now. There was no mistaking the look of ravenous want in her face. 

“I need you to drink something first,” he states firmly. She whimpers a little but follows his directive. Her hand shakes but she downs the whole drink in a few minutes. “I’m going to take care of you now, okay, Evelin? Just like our contract states.”

“Steve,” she whines, reaching for him.

He takes her hand and crawls up onto the bed with her. She was pungent in his nose as he takes his uniform off as quickly as he can, all the while trying to keep the woman off of him. Needy and wanting, she grabs him by the back of his neck as soon as his shirt is off and kisses him.

It was strong and heady and so very passionate. He groans into her lips as her hands burn through his skin to his insides. She is fire and everything wonderful in the world all at the same time in that small moment. 

His alpha kicks in as she moans into him and he shoves her back. Her eyes widen for a split second before she digs her nails into his shoulders. There was the slightest bit of fear in her eyes, cutting through the haze of need and lust. He eases his hands and gently brushes a piece of hair out of her face.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Evelin,” he whispers, kissing her neck gently. 

The fear disappears and she arches into him. Every inch of her naked body pressed against his and he was more than ready. He slips a slow finger into her and watches as her whole body shudders in delight. It wouldn’t be enough but he wouldn’t hurt her.

Distracted, she doesn’t notice when he reaches over to grab a condom from the bedside table and slips it on. She is clawing at him desperately; she is whispering his name like some prayer; and she even switches to German for a few moments. He watches her writhe in ecstasy and can’t help but find her gorgeous in that moment. How had he not noticed before how beautiful she was? How had he let it slip past him so easily?

“Steve, more!” she cries, arching into his finger until he adds another. “No! You, I need...god you!”

He understands, resting a hand under her back so he could slip a pillow under her. She squirms as he wraps her legs around his waist and lines himself up. Her hips shove against him in need and he can’t hold back anymore.

Steve thrusts forward.

Her body seems to freeze in shock. She opens her mouth to say something but all that comes out is a low rumble of pleasure. “Steve,” she whispers, digging her nails into his shoulders to pull him down. “More.”

He moves against her, slow at first, but then very quickly becoming frenzied. He wasn’t going to last long. She was too hot, too slick, too tight, too...everything. Her scent, her musk, was drowning him; she was taking over him.

A shudder went up her body as an orgasm crashed through her system. He sped up, reaching for his own orgasm, and found it when she nearly sobs his name. Her face was tilted back in pleasure and it made him moan softly. 

He quickly flips them over as his knot starts to grow. She makes a small noise of pleasure when it locks them together. Her head rests against his chest and her legs were framing his body but she seemed comfortable and content to just lie there.

“Steve,” she whispers after some time. Her eyes were a little more clear now; she looked more like herself. “We just...damn…”

He chuckles lightly. “I have to agree.”

She very easily falls asleep against his chest within a few moments of silence. Her body was cooling off in the air of the room and some of the sweat was starting to dry as well. Overall, he knew she would be a little better once she woke up. He could probably get her into the bathtub so he could change the sheets, which were soaked with sweat and smelt far too much like the two of them. 

The phone in his uniform made some muffled noises and he looked down at the woman to see her content and hardly moving. Slowly, he reached over and grabbed the pants off the floor. He hisses a little when his knot pulls a little; Evelin doesn’t move though. Pulling the thin phone out, he sees a text message from the one person he really didn’t want to think about.

_How did the mission go? Did you get her back?_

He lays back and presses the phone to his forehead, trying desperately to come up with something to text back. Evelin shifts a little on his chest, pressing her nose into his neck. His body hummed with the scent of her and the feel of her body against his; he was so content it made him guilty. 

He looks at the blocky name at the top of the text and gives a little sigh. He just couldn’t leave it at that. Shannon would worry about him if he didn’t text back. Besides, it was confidential where he was at the moment and way above her clearance. 

Pressing his cheek against Evelin’s head, he tries to quell his guilt. It wasn’t being with Evelin that made him feel bad; no, it was the fact that he felt so much more comfortable with her than with Shannon. His feelings for Shannon ran deep. He felt like their relationship was starting to move towards love...however, their intimate life was a little bland.

She smelt too much like her aunt.

_Ran into trouble. I’m in a safe house._

She knew what that meant. He had been up front with her about signing on to be Evelin’s emergency alpha. Shannon could be very understanding but that had thrown them into a fight. Steve couldn’t blame her and understood her frustration at him. He hadn’t asked her permission; he had just done it. 

He wraps his free arm around the woman and hesitates when his phone vibrates again. Shannon’s jealousy of Evelin wasn’t unwarranted and she had been kind enough not to give him an ultimatum. Any other beta with less character probably would have. Sadly, neither one of them had thought the contract would be needed. Most of the time, the contract was just a precaution and never used.

So much for that.

_We’ll talk when you get home._

Evelin’s hands clench at his shoulders with an unexpected strength as she pops her head up to look down at him. Her hair was messy and haphazard from their coitus. Her blue eyes were bright but hazy as she looks down at him.

“Steve,” she sighs, running a hand through her hair. They both give a small gasp when she moves and his knot pulls a little. “Okay, I’ll just...lay here, then.”

He sets his phone on the bedside table and wraps his other arm around her gently, letting her rest her head on his chest again. “Do you feel better?” he asks, shocked, that he didn’t feel more awkward than he did.

There is a small moment of silence before she answers. “Yeah, I mean, it’s not over but...for now, yeah, I feel a lot better,” she whispers, obviously unsure of what to do with her hands. They moved back and forth between his chest and neck a couple of times. 

Gently, he takes her hands in his own and kisses her knuckles. “I know I’m asking a lot but...don’t feel awkward about this. I know you can feel what I’m feeling; I’m fine with this, Evelin.”

She lifts her head to look at him but is smiling. “I know, I’m just...nervous. I’ve never actually enjoyed...sex before.”

His eyes harden a little but it wasn’t towards her. “Rape isn’t sex, Evelin,” he states fiercely. She flinches a little so he eases his intensity, smiling gently and brushing her cheek with the back of his hand. “You let me know if I do anything that hurts you or that you don’t like, okay?” 

She nods after a moment, cheeks flushed with embarrassment, before resting her head on his chest again. “Once we can separate, I want to run you a bath, okay? We’re not done but you can at least enjoy the accommodations.”

~~~

It was about an hour later that they were able to separate once his knot went away. He got up and went into the bathroom to dispose of his condom and run her a bath, which was sweet. She hadn’t taken a bath for pleasure...ever. There had been ceremonial bathes for when she was being prepped for a wealthy donor but never one just to soak.

She jumps when a warm, large hand runs over her ribs where a rather ugly bruise darkened her otherwise pale skin. A shiver runs down her body as Steve’s face comes into view from behind her. “You okay? These bruises are pretty bad,” he whispers, touching the scars that went down her side until his hand was trailing up and over her hip. Her body was tingling with anticipation from the heady pheromones he was putting off.

Turning over, she was still a little shocked by his nudity. He seemed so comfortable, though. He smelt confident and content and excited and worried for her. It was a lot to take in. 

Honestly, her brain was still having a hard time adapting to the fact that he had made something traumatic for her pleasurable. Sure, the heat helped but she had genuinely enjoyed having sex with him. She had never enjoyed having sex with anyone.

Evelin’s mind came to a screeching halt. Rape. She had been raped. She had never consented to anything before SHIELD had liberated her. Even if she had, she had been a minor and it fell under other laws. Steve and her were having sex. She was, for all intents and purposes, having sex for the very first time.

“I’m fine,” she smiles when she realized she had been staring at him for too long. “I’m just a little sore but nothing I can’t handle.”

He smiles, relieved. “Good, your bath is ready,” he states before standing up. 

She goes to get up and finds him right beside her, ready and willing to help. “I’m fine, Steve,” she chuckles, the sound genuinely happy. “I’ll go take a bath. You get some water or food. You’ve earned it.”

His laugh makes her insides churn with heat and need but she easily pushes it aside. “Okay, I’ll do that. Just call me when you’re ready to get out. Your next wave will probably hit soon,” he points out. 

Nodding, she makes her way into the bathroom where a thin fog of steam heated the room pleasantly. Stepping into the large, deep tub, she allows herself to sink into the hot water. Enjoying the heat and soothing water, she sighs happily. The water comes up to her neck and the smell of the room tells her that he put some kind of epsom salt in it.

Steve had thought of literally everything to make this a more pleasant experience. He had been so gentle and kind to her in their first bout; he had made her feel comfortable and made sure he didn’t hurt her. It was more than she had ever expected from an alpha. It was more than she had ever expected when he agreed to fill out the contract so she could become a SHIELD agent in training. 

But, he had been solid, gentle and perfect. She could almost feel the way his large hands held her fast so his thrusts would strike every perfect spot. The way he smelt when he was at his most primal; the way his face looked when he had…

A cramp hit her so suddenly that she cried out in pain and curled in on herself. The need was next as the wave gave no warning. “Steve,” she whimpers, even as he is rushing into the room. “It hurts.”

He smiles gently, reaching out to pull her out of the bathtub as if she weighed nothing. A towel is near torture on her sensitive skin as he quickly dries her off like a small child. “I just changed the sheets,” he points out, ruffling her hair with the towel before running it down her neck. “I don’t want you getting them too wet.”

God, his voice was low and husky as he dragged the towel down her arms and chest. She was in beautiful agony as he slowly dries off every inch of her but the one spot she wanted him to touch. Instead, he goes around that spot and crouches down to dry her legs and feet.

“Steve!” she snaps, agitated that he was taking so long. 

He places a kiss on her hipbone before trailing them up her body as he comes up from his crouch. Fire, hot and sweet, courses through her entire body as he gently sucks on her nipple in an act that makes her nearly crumple to the floor. Good thing he had strong arms and easily caught her.

Standing up completely, he guides her legs around his waist so he could pay attention to her breasts while also moving them to the bed. She hardly notices when her back hits the bed because he’s so busy kissing her neck. The insides of her thighs were so wet with her arousal, she wasn’t sure she was going to stay sane long enough for him to penetrate her.

He pulls away and she looks up at him. His blue eyes were hazy with lust but bright with appreciation. “You’re beautiful,” he whispers, and only backs it up with his pheromones that nearly choke her with their potency. “Do you want to flip over this time?”

She tenses up a little at the thought of not seeing him. He soothes her with his smell and kisses her senseless. “I don’t know,” she whispers, breathless.

“It will help to make you feel a little better,” he points out, idly running a finger across her most intimate spot. “Besides, I can get deeper.”

Her words send a shiver of want down her spine and she slowly starts to turn over. A burst of anxiety makes her stop but his hands guide her so that she is positioned facing the opposite direction. “Look,” he whispered, tilting her head up by her chin so she could see the mirror of the vanity across the room. Her own bruised face was staring back at her as well as the large, muscular, attractive alpha behind her. “You can see me this way. Lay down, you don’t have to be on all fours.”

Somehow, he had positioned a pillow up under her pelvis so that her backside was propped up a little more. She looked absolutely scandalous but as he gently nudges her legs a little wider so he can press his front against her back, it all goes away. She wanted him; he wanted her; and they were both consenting adults with a contract. He wasn’t going to hurt her...actually, the exact opposite.

He brushes the back of her ear with his teeth, staring at her in the mirror so they could make eye contact. “Just tell me if it becomes too much,” he whispers, the tip of his erection brushing her. The heat and need only becomes unbearable as his hands hold her hips down into the pillow with gentle pressure.

He enters her slowly and she could swear it was even better this time. She pants needily as he tortures her with his slow pace; she can feel every inch of his impressive length touching her insides and she let him know with a low, desperate moan. He kisses her neck when he is fully seated inside of her.

“How does that feel?” he rasps, giving a soft nibble against her neck. 

“G-Good, just move!” she gasps, gripping the blanket desperately when his hips move back and then forward again. “Oh shit, more!” 

She didn’t think anything would ever come this close to mind-numbing pleasure ever again as he thrust into her. Every part of her was on fire; every part of her was thrumming with blood and adrenaline. She lost herself in the moment and even closed her eyes for a moment.

The second her world went dark, His face popped into her mind and triggered a burst of panic. Her eyes snap open to look at the mirror; she looked at Steve’s handsome face. She categorized all of the ways he was different from Father: 1) Strong, boyish face. 2) Blue eyes that were open and clear. 3) Muscles rippling as he moves against her in the sweetest ways. 4) That smile that held nothing back when he looked at her. 5) So many more. She slowly worked herself out of her panic. Steve’s eyes meet hers and he grows worried, even starts to slow down, stretching out to press his chest to her back.

“Are you okay, Evelin?” he whispers, low and caring, into her ear. “I can stop.”

She shakes her head, already feeling something building inside her body. “I’m fine, just...needed a moment to clear my head,” she pants in between thrusts.

He hesitates for a moment but squeezes her hips gently before picking up his pace. She sucks in a quick breath as her brain takes a moment to register all of the pleasure. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he promises, kissing her neck gently. 

Evelin wanted to reassure him that she knew but her mouth wouldn’t form coherent words. He changed the angle just slightly and she couldn’t help the yelp of shock that escaped her lips. He was hitting that spot, dead on, and it was...heavenly.

“Steve,” she breathes, the only clear thing she could say as he pushed her to climax. She finally tips over as his hands run up her sides and his teeth gently scrape at the nape of her neck.

Her pleasure was too intense for words. She could feel every part of him inside, thrusting over and over against that spot that had her trembling. He kept pushing the limits of her pleasure until she just slumped under him, trembling. 

“Evelin,” he whispers her name like something sacred as he gives one final thrust. His knot was much faster this time and he gently moved them to their sides so they could spoon. He nuzzles the back of her neck fondly and wraps an arm around her waist to hold her close. “I’m going to get a bit of sleep, now. You should too. When we wake up I’ll get you something to eat.”

She nods, already on her way towards sleeping. 

~~~

He dozed off for a few hours before he woke back up to the sound of buzzing. Looking at his phone on the bedside table, he saw it lighting up letting him know he had a call. Evelin was fast asleep on the other side of the bed, curled around herself in the fetal position.

Sitting up, he grabs the phone and slips out of the room. Steve wrapped a robe around him as he goes into the living room and settles on the couch. He looks at the missed number for a moment before steeling himself and dialing.

She picked up on the second ring. “Steve?” her voice pierces through the phone, stern and determined. 

”Yeah it’s me,” he answers, trying to sound sure and confident. He wasn’t sure how he sounded, really.

They sat there in silence for a long moment. What could you say at a time like this? Steve was literally in a house with a woman he had saved years ago for the sole purpose of having sex with her until her heat was over. Now, he was talking to his girlfriend over the phone. The only way this could be more embarrassing is if they were bonded.

”I’m sorry,” he finally admits with a sigh. 

He could practically hear the way her lips purse in displeasure as she mulls over what to say. “I told you this was a bad idea,” she finally states, all but snapping at him.

He feels himself bristle. “It wasn’t a bad idea,” he rebuttes as calmly as he can manage. “I would rather it be me then some other alpha or beta. It was obviously a good idea because she needed me.”

She huffs on the phone, indignant. “ _She_ needs you?! How do you think this makes _me_ feel, Steve? Now everyone at SHIELD knows I’m the beta whose partner had to sleep with the mutant, omega cadet!”

He feels a wave of disgust wash over him. “Why does that matter? I took on the responsibility as a support person for her before you and I started dating, Shannon! You and her are both important to me in different ways.”

Steve understood her frustration, he really did. That didn’t excuse the fact that she was making this out to be Evelin’s fault. Evelin never wanted this; shit, she wanted this less than the two of them combined! Why couldn’t Shannon see that?

Shannon huffs a little on the line then goes silent. She was thinking about something really hard. “Shannon?” he asks tentatively. “I get why you’re upset but I couldn’t...I couldn’t watch all of her dreams of the future be crushed because of some backwards rule that only affect omegas. People like us, betas and alphas, we don’t have to live by those rules. It’s unfair.”

She is silent for enough time for him to think she had hung up before she finally answered. “No, Steve, it’s unfair to me. You didn’t even ask me before you signed her paper,” she points out.

He feels a little anger spike through his chest. “We’re dating, Shannon, not bonded partners. I don’t need your permission. It was a choice I made for the good of someone I care about. I won’t feel guilty over that.” 

Even before his last sentence is over, she hung up. He sighs, looking at his phone for a moment before hearing a soft shuffling behind him. Looking back, he’s shocked to see Evelin standing at the foot of the stairs looking very shocked and a little guilty. How had she snuck up on him? Usually, he could smell her before heard her.

He smiles gently. “Hey, you should be asleep,” he soothes, standing up to reach for her.

She balks at his touch. “You have a girlfriend?” He freezes and looks down at her for a moment. She wasn’t angry, he could smell that much, but she wasn’t happy either. “Why didn’t you say something?!”

This day just kept getting worse by the moment. “Evelin,” he sighs, gesturing towards the couch. “Come sit down and I’ll explain.”

She looks at the couch and slowly makes her way to sit down. It looked like she was being delicate with herself and he could smell the start of another wave that would hit her soon. He didn’t want them to get into an argument; it would definitely set her off.

Steve helps her sit down slowly and grabs a blanket thrown over the armchair to place over lap. She accepts the blanket, still naked, and looks up at him expectantly. Evelin looked tired; she had bags under her eyes and the bruises all over her body were already turning green and yellow.

He sits down on the other side of the couch. “Yes, I am currently in a relationship,” he starts, watching her face do some odd things. She looked scared and then guilty and then angry and then just sad; it was reflected in her scent as well as she shifted through a ton of different emotions before settling on guilt and self-hatred. “Hey, I have no guilt about this, Evelin. Please, I made this decision because I knew it was the right one. I don’t want you to feel guilty for me.”

She looks down at her lap and a tear slips down her face. “I’m sorry. I wish I had known...I would have tried harder to find someone else,” she whispers, a sob choking her up a little. 

Grabbing her up, he wraps his arms around her neck. “Stop it,” he whispers, pumping the air full of strong, pungent alpha pheromones to calm her. “She’ll get over it, Evelin. You came before her. I couldn’t let your dreams end like that. I don’t regret this, okay?”

She nods her head against his shoulder. “What if I caused your relationship to end?” she mumbles into the side of his neck. It sends a shiver down his spine. 

He shakes his head. “Then it wasn’t meant to be.”

She looks up through her lashes at him and his insides flutter a little. “I’m glad you’re here,” she breathes, smelling suddenly of heat and arousal. 

His nostrils flare as his body reacts to her almost instantly. “I’ll deal with anything else after I’ve taken care of you,” he whispers, reaching out to hook a hand behind her neck to pull her forward. 

She pounces on him, unable to resist his touch. Her lips are harsh and dominating as he eases her onto his lap so she can wrap her hands around the back of his neck and into his hair. She grabs him by the hair and devours him. Steve can’t help moaning into her lips as she grinds down against him. 

Reaching over to the side table, he slips his hand into the drawer and pulls out a condom. Clint had informed him that the house was set up for an omega in heat; there were condoms everywhere there was a drawer, pretty much. It was the easiest way to insure that no one would get pregnant during any heated moment.

It was so simple to fall into a steady rhythm with her. He slipped the condom on and allowed her to press down around him. She was slick and hot and so very loud as she threw her head back with reckless abandon. Steve’s head swam in her scent as he enjoyed feeling her rocking against him in a steady way that was very quickly becoming haphazard.

He slips his hands inside her robe so that it falls away from her body. He knew he shouldn’t admire her so blatantly. Steve thought of Shannon who was a little wider than the woman and had more curves. She was beautiful in her own right. Even with all of that, Steve found himself in awe of the woman currently having sex with him.

She had a light sheen of sweat covering her body, which made her scars more vivid in the poor lighting of the livingroom. Her breasts, full but tone, bounced as she worked. She was baring her throat to him in a way that made his inner alpha pur even as she completely dominated him. 

Most of all...he loved the way she smelled. Alphas were known for being the most aware of the scents of others and any alpha would be an idiot for not recognizing how good Evelin smelt. She turned heads wherever she went because of it. Steve found himself intoxicated by her room and any other place she spent a large amount of time. She had started using citrus candles because of this very issue.

He loved it, though.

~~~

She was nervous. 

First day of SHIELD boot camp, as Steve so fondly called it, and she was standing in a sea of alphas and betas. She was pretty sure she was the only omega in the entire group. Not wanting to be deterred, she stood a little straighter and clasped her hands behind her back.

People were milling around, because it was so early, and she perked a little when the scent of omega caught her attention. It was familiar and made her smile when she saw the archer coming her way in his usual purple and black uniform. “Clint, are you doing the training?” she asks, just as he stops in front of her. 

He shrugs casually. “Some of it, mostly the marksmanship test...you ready for this?”

Clint was an omega, just like her, he knew why she was nervous. “Yeah, just nervous. I’m kind of surrounded,” she points out, trusting the man who had carried her, naked, across a battlefield. At this point, she would trust any word that came out of his mouth. 

He smirks, confident and strong. “You’re not alone. I’ll be here for the marksmanship test. You’re going to do great. Just keep a level head and don’t let anyone push you around.”

“Thanks Clint, I’m going to try.”

Giving her a sarcastic salute, he walks towards where the instructors are near the front of the herd of possible agents. She had been training for this since she got back from that week in the SHIELD safehouse. The thought still made her cheeks a little warm and butterflies flutter in her stomach. Every time she saw Steve, it happened even stronger.

Everyone stopped speaking when Director Fury walks into the room. She stands a little taller when everyone else straightened. The room smells strongly of alpha but even those couldn’t compare to the man that is walking behind the Director. He’s in his full uniform today and the mere sight of him makes her stomach do backflips.

Her body knew him too well. She could imagine those hands on her in a second if she allowed her mind to take that dangerous turn. But, even with that, she could smell the interest of nearly all of the betas in the room as Captain America stands with his hands behind his back beside the Director. He was broad and commanding and very attractive.

His eyes meet hers and she locks her knees when they threaten to buckle. She smiles, trying not to let the people around her know she was hopelessly attracted to the man. It was, after all, only natural to feel attracted to him after the week they had nearly six months ago. To her body, though, it felt like just yesterday that he had taken care of her needs so spectacularly. 

She clamped down on her instinctual need to scent the room. It would gather too much attention if she did that. No one in this room except for the alpha at the front could beat out her scent.

Director Fury, the straightforward man that he was, said a few words to the group about his expectations for any Agent that was accepted into the program. They had to be the best of the best with the greatest potential. Only a third of the group would be accepted, which she already knew; it still made her anxious. What if she wasn’t accepted?

“Good luck,” was the last thing he said before he disappeared.

They were separated into smaller groups so they could rotate through all of the tests. She was in a group with mostly alphas, which seemed humorous to a few of them. They didn’t think she was competent. She didn’t care; she would show them. Her name was called in the second group and they were taken to the gun range for marksmanship. 

“First task,” Agent Coulson states, standing in front of the group with Clint. “You will reassemble the following guns and hit the targets with the full clips and then disassemble the gun. Myself and Agent Barton will time you.”

Evelin looked at the table from around some big, broad alpha and saw there was a pistol, an M-16 and an M24 sniper rifle. All of them were in pieces but she could recognize them from the times she had done this same exact exercise with Steve. Most of the possible agents were from a military background or some kind of FBI training but she hadn’t known anything about guns until her training with Steve. 

Her heart raced as Clint called out the first name of her group. She would be in the middle of the pack with her last name. She watched every person step up and take the ear protection provided then do their test. Each gun was set up in a small cubicle where targets were placed at certain intervals depending on the gun.

The first guy walked up and did his thing. The first two seemed easy for him until he got to the sniper rifle. That was where he took the most time and she had to agree that it was the hardest gun, for her at least. When he was done, the next guy stepped up.

She waited patiently until her name was called. Stepping through the pack of alphas, she stepped up to take the headgear from Clint who gave her a small wink. Stepping up to the first gun, she took a deep breath to steady herself.

“Begin,” Agent Coulson snaps, starting the time.

Her hands are a blur even to her as she assembles the gun and lifts it to empty the clip. The gun made her feel powerful and she hit the center of the target with four of the seven bullets and the others were pretty close. Quick as she could, she disassembled the gun and shifted to the next.

Her body hummed with the actions and the feel of the metal made her comfortable. She had always thought a gun would make her feel uncomfortable. Instead, it was a dangerously addictive feeling to shoot a target. She felt protected when she had a weapon like this one in her hand. 

The kick back of the M-16 was forceful but welcome as she emptied the clip into the target, tearing the middle to pieces. She disassembled it with ease and moved on to the sniper rifle.

She smirks as she sets it on the tripod and looks into the scope and fires five rounds of the rifle into the target, hitting the head dead on and the chest right in the center. Her disassemble was even quicker than her assembly and when she’s done, she turns around to look at Agent Coulson and Clint.

“Two minutes,” Clint states, nodding. 

That beat her best time with Steve by a good minute! She smiles, proud, and steps back into the group to watch the others. By the end, she had gotten the fifth best score. Overall, not too bad! She was very happy with the time. 

“Alright, Group B, you’ll be going to the written test next,” Clint states, walking the group to the next room. He gives Evelin a quick wink. “Not too bad, even for an omega!”

She gives him a sarcastic smirk. “You haven’t seen anything yet!” 

“I hope to see it all on the field!” he points out before going to grab the next group. 

Evelin looks at the room and sees a lecture hall in the style of an amphitheatre. She picks a seat near the bottom where her name was written on the front of a booklet. There were two pencils, a calculator, blank paper and graph paper next to it. Another Agent comes into the room and stands behind the podium.

“Welcome cadets, I am Agent Hill,” she states, confident and stable. She was very obviously an alpha. Female alphas were very rare and it sent a wave of murmurs through the crowd. “This will be your written test to determine your intellectual areas. If you score below an eighty-five percent, you will automatically be ineligible for the SHIELD program. The test is on several areas including math, writing, reading, psychology, science and many other subjects. There are no multiple choice questions. You have an hour. Open your books and begin.”

Evelin opened the page and was greeted with a physics problem about the velocity of a car. Man, they weren’t playing around. She takes a deep breath and begins working out the problem with the knowledge she had gained from Xavier’s school. Boy was she glad she had taken so many science classes to make up for her deficiency, the book was full of science questions.

The best part of the test was the psychology questions. She had already started taking undergraduate classes in psychology so those were an absolute breeze to finish. Her academic prowess was her best feature, honestly. She was dreading the hand-to-hand combat part of this test. 

At the forty minute mark, she set her pencil down and checked over all of her answers. She was confident in this part of the tests. Agent Hill came over when she saw her set down her pencil and patiently waited for her to finish checking.

“Ready for grading?” she asks, serious and stoic. 

Evelin’s face grew a little warm. The woman smelt warm and feminine but powerful and dominant at the same time. It was so weird to smell a female alpha so close. “Yes ma’am,” she nods, confident.

The woman turns the book around and opens it, flipping through without even marking anything. She doesn’t look up until she closes the book and takes out a red pen to mark the front.

98%

“You need to work on your physics. Go wait outside for the rest of your group.”

“Yes ma’am,” Evelin smiles, standing up to walk past every other people in the room to step outside into the hallway. Two tests done, now she just needed to complete the hand-to-hand combat test. 

Slowly, people start to come out of the room. Several leave the hallway altogether, which tells her that they didn’t pass the test at all. Some, like her, sit down in the various chairs that are situated around the hallway. 

Finally, out of the original 30 cadets, there are only seven betas, six alphas and Evelin left. That was a high failure rate. She felt proud to even be here at this point. Too bad, three of the people who had beat her at the marksmanship test were still there. 

Agent Hill came out and they all stood up.

“Congratulations on passing the academic test,” she states, stoic. “You are now expected to go change down the hall and to the right. There is a stack of work out clothes for all of you in the locker rooms. They have your names on them. You have ten minutes to make it to the workout room.”

Evelin follows the much smaller group down the hall and walks into the women’s locker room to find the clothing that have her name on them. It was a SHIELD issue set of athletic clothing, including a sports bra and a pair of tennis shoes and socks. She quickly changed without looking at the other women and rushed out towards the training room.

She walks in and is instantly bombarded by Steve’s scent. He smelt raw and masculine as he took a long pull of water from a bottle across the room. Still in his uniform, he instantly looked up when she enters the room. Her body wants her to go to him but her mind keeps her from doing such a stupid thing. Just because he smelt like he had recently been exercising, which he had, didn’t mean she was going to go all omega in his presence. 

He shoots her a smile as the other people of her team come into the room. Another pungent scent enters the room and Evelin can’t help but gawk a little when she spots Black Widow coming from the other side of the room. Of course, she was an alpha too. It was odd how many female alphas there were in this place.

“Ten minutes are up,” Steve mentions. 

Evelin quickly counts and notices that someone is missing, there are only thirteen cadets in the room. Just then, one of the alpha men runs in, huffing.

“You’re late,” Black Widow states, pointing at the door. “You can leave.”

Harsh. The alpha, looking a little embarrassed, walks out.

“You are here for your last test,” Steve smiles, always looking so welcoming. “We will do a full hour workout and then sparring at the end. The test is based on your endurance, agility, strength and flexibility.”

And, he wasn’t fucking kidding. They started with some light stretching then went a 2 mile run. After being trained by Wolverine in combat, she had to admit that she was pretty adept at running for long periods of time. Hell, one time, they had had to all run up and down a mountain because Kitty and Iceman decided it would be a great idea to prank Wolverine. That had been torture.

She had trained in the past six months to reach what would pass military standards, which was a mile in no more than 19 minutes and 42 seconds. She wanted to be able to do the men’s time, which was 15 minutes. She completed her two mile run in just under 20 minutes this time around, which wasn’t her best time but still met the mark. 

Her time was better than all but one alpha male.

Next were sit-ups and pushups. She did 85 sit-ups, which was something she had been working on in the past couple of months. In the military, she had heard that 53 was expected so she had gone for that but had surpassed it quite some time ago. Her pushups were not that good but she had still tried to work so she could get close to the male requirement for the military. Today, she ended up doing 25 pushups. 

Next they moved to weights. She ended up benching 95lbs, which was not her best, but her arms were sore from the pushups. She squatted much more: 175lbs. Obviously, her legs were so much stronger than her arms. 

Finally, after all of that, they got water and then set up to spar in the middle of the room where there was a circle. It looked like a wrestling mat used in high school wrestling. There was one in the training room at the academy.

“Now, we’ll do one-on-one sparring. The rules are very simple, pin or disable your opponent by any means necessary,” Black Widow explains with a sly smile. “We’ll decide when to stop the combat so unless we say stop, keep going.”

“Just don’t kill each other,” Steve smiles, obviously finding Black Widow amusing. Evelin couldn’t imagine why; she was really intimidated by the female alpha.

“Evelin Jager and Jaime Vargas,” the woman calls.

Suddenly nervous, Evelin stands up and stands in the middle of the mat in front of the male beta. He was taller than her by about a foot and quite bulky. He was one of guys who had beat her on her run time.

“Ready...begin.”

Without hesitation, she charges the man and lashes out with her elbow to knock him in the throat. He chokes, giving her just enough time to swipe his feet out from under him. His body falls hard and she proceeds to knock him in the solar plexus with the heel of her hand. 

The wind is knocked right out of him and she takes that opportunity to wrap her arm up under the back of his neck. She grabs a leg and locks her hands with one of his arms, leg and his head in her grasp. Pressing back, she pins him without much effort. Even when he starts to struggle, she merely tightens her grasp and presses back to keep him stationary.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Steve states, too close for comfort. Evelin’s blood was pumping through her ears; she hadn’t heard him come up on them.

She releases the man, helping him to stand with a smile. The fight hadn’t lasted more than two minutes. Going to Xavier’s school had it’s perks, such as different fighting classes. She had learnt a lot going to wrestling classes and several martial arts styles. Besides, she actually had experience in combat situations where she had to fight dirty. 

Sitting down on the edge of the mat, she took a sip of her water bottle and caught the brief, proud smile that Steve sent her way. It made her insides flutter a little but she ignored it. There were people fighting right now. 

Of course, the alphas were the most aggressive fighters in the group but the betas were really good too. Evelin was pretty sure she got lucky by shocking Jaime with her instant reaction. She knew better, though. He was strong and much bigger than her; if he had grabbed her first, she would have had to fight way harder than if she got the upperhand first thing.

There was an odd alpha left over when the sparring was coming to an end. Steve looked at the man and shrugged. “Alright, Dailon, go ahead and pick your sparring partner. It has to be someone who’s already won,” Steve offers.

Evelin watches the alpha’s green eyes look straight at her and knows what’s about to happen. She can already smell the contempt from the man. He didn’t think she was good enough; he didn’t think she deserved to be here. 

“Come on, omega, you can best a beta, let’s see if you can do the same with an alpha,” he challenges, ignorant and abrasive. 

Steve’s lips thin a little but Black Widow gives him a look that only Evelin knew the meaning behind. She was warning him; he couldn’t show favoritism towards Evelin. He had to stand there and let her fight her own battles.

“Sure,” she shrugs, standing up in one fluid motion to join him in the middle of the circle. Her heart was racing but it was adrenaline from the need to crush this guy, not fear. She had downed plenty of alphas in her past; this guy was nothing compared to the mutants she’s fought. She wouldn’t even use her powers.

“Begin.”

He reaches out for her with a quick hand but she bats it away with her forearm. She takes a step back as he advances. His arms were longer than hers; she wouldn’t be able to grapple him. He was also the one who bench pressed the most. She would have to be careful not to get caught. 

He swipes at her with his big hands and she easily ducks under and around to kick the back of his knee. He goes down to that knee and she takes the chance to wrap an arm around his throat. She squeezed but he quickly recovered, placing a hand at her elbow and ducking out from her grasp. 

She jerks away and puts some distance between them. He smells like an angry alpha now, which was potent and made her omega side want to cower. She wouldn’t cower. He was a dick and needed to be put in his place.

They circle each other for a bit, looking for a weakness. He was coiled muscles and masculinity personified; she was lean and hidden danger. He charges her, grabbing again, and she grabs his arm. Using his momentum, she throws herself back and wraps her legs around his waist to roll with him. She disengages and stands so she can strike him in the face with the heel of her palm.

He shouts in pain, holding his nose as he rolls away to his feet. There is blood in the air now as it flows from his nose, down his chin to drip into his new clothes. “Filthy cur!” he snaps, growling like a beast now.

She stays calm on the outside but feels the blood in her body boil at the name. It was a trigger, she had to stay calm. Her scent started to become potent but she reigned it in as he charged, all rage and hatred. She ducks under his grab and brings her knee up into his groin. He screams, grabbing her around her waist to hoist her up above his head. 

Her world turned upside down for a moment before she regained her composure and wrapped her arms around his neck. Using his momentum against him, she slammed him down into the ground with her full weight. He gasps, the wind knocked out of him as she tries to slide out of his weakened grasp. His arms tighten and she jabs her fingers into a pressure point to get his hands to unlock. 

His fist finds her face in a well placed punch that makes her face explode in pain. Her mind and vision whirl. She can’t tell what’s up and what’s down. It had been so long since she had been knocked so hard. Her body instantly goes into survival mode.

With a feral scream, she drives her elbow into his face. There is a sickening crunch as her vision still doesn’t focus. It’s red, the world is red, and she can only continue to slam her elbow into the man who now had a grasp on her shirt. 

“Let go!” she screams, suddenly panicking. The air smelt like alpha and blood. She was bleeding; she was going to die! “LET GO!”

“Evelin stop!” Steve finally gets through to her as he pulls her off of the man with his strong arms pinning her arms to her chest. “It’s okay, you’re safe. You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

She whips her head back and forth and struggles a little bit more before she finally goes limp with exhaustion. “That’s it,” he whispers, sitting down with her in his lap. “You’re in a safe place. No one’s going to hurt you.”

His words were so sweet, so patient that she looked up at him with a tired smile. “Steve,” she mutters, basking in his strong, heady scent. “Where did everyone go?”

The room was empty except for the two of them now. “I sent them out,” he tells her, running a wet cloth down her face. It came back covered in blood. “You were scenting the room, quite a bit. I was afraid you would put everyone to sleep or worse.”

Oh, yeah that wouldn’t be good. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to lose control.”

He shakes his head. “He shoved you into a corner. He was stupid. Every alpha should know that a cornered omega is a deadly omega.”

She laughs, finding the strength to get out of his lap. “Sorry I made you do this in front of everyone.”

Shaking his head with a laugh, he stands up beside her. “It’s okay. That guy was an ass for pushing you so far. Besides, they’re all out getting water and coffee anyways. We have about ten minutes before the results are released,” he nods towards the door.

Oh, well shit. Was her freak out going to get her disqualified? She didn’t even want to ask for fear of what the answer was. When she walked out into the large area they had started in, word must have spread, because she was given a wide berth by most of the people. There weren’t that many left, maybe two dozen at the most. 

She kept the wet cloth pressed to her forehead but she didn’t see Dailon anywhere. Was he in a clinic or was he disqualified? She didn’t know but the place where he had punched her hurt like hell. Hopefully, he was at least as sore as she was. 

“The following people may stay. If you don’t hear your name, please go retrieve your things and leave,” Agent Coulson states, standing at the very front. He starts calling names and Evelin’s heart starts racing. Did she not do well enough? Was she being excluded because of her outburst? 

“Evelin Jager.”

Her breath escaped her in a whoosh of air as she smiles at Steve who was standing behind the Agent. His smile told her everything. He was proud of her. Not surprised that she had been chosen, but definitely proud.

She was just happy the next chapter of her life could begin.


	4. My Miracle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just days away from defending her dissertation, she comes to the bay as all hell breaks loose. The triskellion is falling into the bay with Hydra's symbol across it. She stays to help and finds the body of the Scarlet Spider.

Walking down the sidewalk, she re-read her dissertation for the thousandth time that day. She was so close to her Ph.D that she could taste it. She just needed to defend her dissertation and she would be a Doctor! Doctor Evelin Jager. Oh my God did that sound amazing in her head! She bet it would sound even better when other people said it too!

It felt like forever ago that she was graduating high school and had been accepted into SHIELD’s program. She had been trained as a SHIELD agent but also put through medical school to become a psychiatrist. Dr. Holland had been so tickled when Evelin had mentioned she wanted to be a psychiatrist just like her. She wanted to help people and Dr. Holland’s job was just the position she wanted. With her abilities, she had already helped one person to reform.

She stops and takes a moment to let her pride envelop her completely. A little more than a decade had passed since she was locked away in that compound. It felt like an eon ago. She was such a different person now. 

Evelin jumped when a thundering sound echoed not too far away. Her eyes looked up and widened when the triskellion came into view. But it wasn’t the triskellion, no it was different. She knew Director Fury was MIA right now but...was that a HYDRA symbol on the front of it?!

Why hadn’t they called her?! 

Then, that’s when she notices SHIELD academy was smoking and leaking a lot of water and was that...Sandman and...Hydroman?! What the fuck?

She pulls her phone out just to make sure but there weren’t any new calls or messages. That means they were infiltrated. She dials Steve’s number and is kind of shocked when his voice cuts through. “Evelin, are you okay? Are you at the academy?” he asks, he sounds like he was running.

“No, I’m headed towards the bay. What’s going on?!” 

She heard some commotion on the other line but he didn’t disconnect. “Doctor Octopus and the Sinister Six infiltrated the academy and allowed HYDRA to abduct the triskellion with a double agent. It’s going to crash into the bay. Get somewhere safe, Evelin! I mean it! I have to go!” he is nearly shouting.

“Be safe, Steve!” she calls just before the line is disconnected. She looks at the falling ship and shifts her feet before heading that way again. If someone were hurt, if there were people who needed guidance, she wouldn’t be sitting somewhere safe. She had to help. There would be confusion and fear. 

Steve. Was he on there? Was he going to crash into the bay? She knew he had survived worse but the thought of the man drowning in a sinking ship made tears spring into her eyes.

No. He would be fine.

She got to the edge of the bay and watched as the ship hit the water. “Shit,” she shouts over the roar of water and she tries to get away as the water rose and started to come towards her. Her body was fast but she still got smacked by the wave as it hit the shore. It didn’t hurt but she hated being wet and it was an early spring day so she instantly started shivering.

Even cold and wet, she got up and walked towards the bay as the water started to recede. There were other people on the bay shore so she went to help them. She called 911 while she was calming some woman who was bleeding from where her head hit the sidewalk. Evelin tore a piece of her shirt and pressed it to the woman’s head. 

She could hear sirens and screaming in the distance. She watched the large ship slowly sink into the bay, worried. An ambulance pulled up and the EMTs took over with the woman so Evelin could get closer to the edge of the water. 

Something caught her eye just a little off of the shore. Something red and bobbing that look distinctly like a person. Looking back, she took note that the EMTs were putting people into the ambulance.

Was that Spider Man? 

Without thinking, she ran headlong into the ice cold water of the bay. He was face down in the water. He might be drowning. She swam out and grabbed the red uniformed person by the arm, flipping them. Shit, it wasn’t Spider Man. This was the Scarlet Spider.

She didn’t know him very well because she wasn’t part of that academy in SHIELD but she definitely recognized him. Evelin didn’t hesitate, though. She wrapped her arm up under his arms and around his chest. It took a bit to get him to shore but she finally pulled him up onto shore. 

Pressing her ear to his chest, she could hear his heart just a little. She tugged his mask off of his face. The scar across his face shocked her a little but didn’t distract her from starting CPR. It took a bit but he coughed up some water and she could finally turn him on his side. He took a couple of deep breaths and seemed to settle.

She called up a friend who she knew had a big car and a medical license. “Yeah, I need you at the bay,” she tells him as she rubs the man’s back gently. “Don’t ask questions and you can’t tell anyone what you’re about to see.”

It wasn’t until she had both of them back at her house that her phone rang. “Steve,” she sighs, answering the call. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he answers, sounding tired. “Sorry it took so long. We’ve been doing some debriefing. Where are you?”

She smiles. “Home. Safe and sound.”

He sighs a little, sounding relieved. “I’m glad.”

“What happened?” she asks, watching her friend come down the stairs. He had his bag in his hand and gestured toward the kitchen. She waved him in; it smelt like coffee and he was just as much a coffee fiend as she was. He gave her the ‘ok’ sign with his hand, disappearing into the kitchen. 

Steve hesitates for a second. “SHIELD academy was infiltrated by one of the spiders.”

Evelin feels herself freeze, looking up at the stairs. “Which one?”

“Scarlet Spider,” he finally admits. She was in security clearance; she could know these things now. 

That and double shit. She had the double agent in her room right now. “Were they able to detain him?” she asks, trying to sound casual.

“No, he ended up betraying Doctor Octopus to save the other spiders,” he states, saying something in a whisper to someone on his side of the lines. “Listen, stay away from the bay for a while. They’re going to do some recon to check the waters for bodies and survivors. I don’t want you to get caught up in that. Okay?”

“Yeah, okay, I need to get ready for my dissertation anyways,” she lies, feeling like she was betraying her long time friend.

“Okay, I’ll call you later when I know more. Be safe.”

“You too, Steve,” she smiles before hanging up. 

“I take it this guy upstairs is a fugitive?” David asks her curiously. He was a sweet beta who she had tried to date at one time. They had both agreed that they were better off as friends when sparks didn’t fly between the two of them. He was a doctor that SHIELD often contacted for information on parasitic diseases and organisms. It was his specialty.

She sighs, gesturing as she went into her room. Her clothes were soaking wet and she needed to change. David followed and didn’t mind when she started to change her clothes. He didn’t walk into the room though; he always said it was very overwhelming to be where her scent was strongest. It was probably another reason they hadn’t worked out; she was just too potent.

“Yeah, but...he risked his ass to save our people too,” she points out. Should she turn him in? Well, of course she should but would she? 

“You should turn him in,” he points out, gesturing with his coffee. She hesitates and he smirks. “But you’re not going to are you? Got a soft spot, Doc?”

She smiles at the nickname. Soon, it wouldn’t be a nickname. “I...can’t. He was manipulated by a master manipulator. He’s got trauma he...doesn’t belong in a jail cell.”

“You’re going to get in trouble,” he was trying to be her voice of reason. 

“What are you my mom?” she laughs, closing the bedroom door behind her. The citrus candle on her table was lit already but she lit another one near the door for good measure. “Besides, Director Fury is MIA, who am I going to get into trouble with?”

“ I’m trying to keep you from letting your profession and past experiences get you in trouble with a government agency,” he affirms, sitting next to her on the couch at a comfortable distance. “I don’t want to see you in a jail cell next to that guy, who, might I add, you’ve never met before.”

She knew he was being logical. Damn it, she knew she could call Steve back right now and tell him to have someone come get the guy. He was stabilized and would be fine, medically, but…

“I was picked up by SHIELD and the Avengers in a cultist’s compound and instead of putting me in a cell, they gave me the care I needed,” she points out, affirming her own biases. “This guy, yeah, he was a double agent but..he was manipulated by Doc Oc. You have to see how this isn’t a black and white issue, David.”

He hums, amused by her bleeding heart. “You know you can’t fix everyone like you did Sandman, right?”

“I didn’t _fix_ Sandman. I gave him the therapy he needed to become a stronger, more stable person. I used my gifts to help him adjust to life as a meta-human,” she rolls her eyes. “Maybe this guy didn’t want to do what he did. Maybe he realized the error of his ways and just needs rehabilitation.”

David smiles, sympathetic. “Maybe you’re right...or, maybe he’ll just take advantage of her kindness and get you into a lot of trouble...or worse.” 

Sadly, she was willing to take that chance.

~~~

He woke up confused and disoriented. It felt like he was drugged, his vision blurred and shaky. He sat up slowly, holding his head; he felt like he had been through hell and back. His whole body protested with a chorus of aches and pains as he tried to remember what had happened. Everything smelt weird, unfamiliar, and soothing for some reason.

“I’m glad to see you’re awake.” He jolts, releasing the triggers for his spikes. They slid smoothly from his wrists as he weakly threatened the person speaking. The woman was sitting in a chair about two feet away from the bed. She had a book open on her knee, keeping her page; she didn’t look at all afraid of him or his spikes. “How do you feel?”

“Who are you?” he questions, taking a look around the room. It looked like a pretty standard guest room in any house; there were a few hand painted pictures on the wall and there was a dresser on the opposite wall. He could see a bathroom through one of the open doors and there was another door that opened into a hallway painted a soft yellow. “Where am I?”

She places a tassled bookmark into her book and sets it on her lap gently. “I’m Evelin Jager and you’re at my house. Any other questions?” she answers patiently. She was a pretty average looking woman with a professionally short hair cut of dark brown; she had dark blue eyes and a pretty hourglass frame. She was wearing jeans and a v-cut t-shirt with a pocket on the breast in a dark teal.

None of that mattered, she smelt...off. There was a scent to her but it was muted, dull and demure. She wasn’t a beta, no, she didn’t seem like a beta. She sat with a confidence that screamed alpha; she sat there with her confidence out in the open and she was unafraid. So...alpha? He couldn’t tell.

“What happened?” he asks, seeing the hallway door and the window as the only escape points. Those meant nothing if he couldn’t walk though. His arms were shaking with the effort of keeping his spikes raised in an offensive position.

Her eyes narrow a little but doesn’t back down. “You don’t remember the Hydra base incident?”

As soon as she even mentions the word Hydra, his memory comes flashing back in a torrent of images, smells and emotions. He had sacrificed himself to take down Hydra’s base like a moron. He never gave a thought to making it out alive but...here he was.

“How am I still alive?” he mumbles, more to himself than to her.

She shrugs her shoulders. “I found you washed up on the shore of the bay on one of my lunch walks a week ago. I have a friend in medicine so he came and stabilized you,” she explains easily, gesturing towards the bedside table. “There’s some water if you’re thirsty. I have some chicken broth in the kitchen if you feel up to eating.”

His thirst and hunger came like a roaring wave off a turbulent ocean, so sudden and violent it caught him off guard. His spikes retract as he reaches out a shaky hand to take the water and pretty much downs the whole thing in a few seconds. His body feels nauseous at first but settles after a moment. 

“Would you like help to the kitchen?” she offers her hand thoughtfully.

He rejects it at first, his alpha side refusing vehemently, turning to place his feet on the hardwood floor. The shock of cold sends a chill up his spine as he tries to stand up. His world tilts so suddenly he doesn’t realize he’s falling to the side until two surprisingly strong arms reach out to wrap around his waist, steadying him firmly. He looks at her, shocked.

She just smirks good naturedly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pushing him with one arm around his waist towards the door. Every cell of his body was screaming to get space; he needed space to regain his dignity. Even this close, he couldn’t smell alpha on her so it made him relax a little, though, not by much. If she were a beta...it’d be fine. She...definitely wasn’t an omega. 

He focuses, instead, on the pictures that pass him by as they start down the hallway. There were several with people from SHIELD Academy that shocked him. 

“Are you a SHIELD agent?” he finally asks just as she sets him gently into a chair at a dining room table. 

Her laugh is genuine and shocking as she easily picks up a box of matches and strikes one to light a pastel orange candle next to the coffee maker. “I guess, technically, yes but I’m more of a contracted worker. I only help out when they need it. I have very...specialized skills.”

He watches her walk over to the stove where a pot sat gently simmering. She dipped a ladle into it and poured some warm broth into a bowl that she already had ready. She set the bowl in front of him along with another bottle of water and a spoon.

“You know who I am and what I did...why’d you save me?” he asks, curious and tense. 

She rests her chin in one hand and contemplates. “I’m just not the type of person who could leave a dying man on a beach,” she finally explains casually as the subtle scent of citrus starts to fill the room only aiding to muddle her scent more. “And don’t worry, no one knows you’re here except for my Doctor friend and he doesn’t even know who you.”

He decided to relax. It didn’t seem like she wanted to cause him any harm and his spider-sense wasn’t sending any warnings. He decided to eat and regain his strength then figure out what to do. “Thank you,” he mumbles before stuffing the spoon into his face.

She doesn’t say anything, going through a pile of papers and making notes here and there with a red pen. Was she a teacher of some kind? Maybe she was grading papers. He found himself reading one of the pages; it was about the psychology of super villains, apparently. 

“My last revisions of my doctoral dissertation. I present in three days,” she explains without looking up. “So, if you want to leave...that’s the day.”

He doesn’t say anything, just continues eating. She was a doctoral student; he recalled seeing a picture of her in a graduation gown in the hallway. She looked so young too; she barely looked old enough to have passed through a psychology degree to her dissertation. 

She rubbed her eyes, tired, but continued. “Does this sound right?” she asks, scooting the paper over towards him suddenly. “I can’t tell if I’m making sense.”

He sets his empty bowl to the side and looks at the paper where she has her pen pointed. “I’m not that smart, lady,” he mentions but is curious nonetheless. It was about the viable option of reconditioning super villains with pheromone therapy and simple behavior modification methods such as how Pavlov conditioned his dog. “You really think you can recondition super villains with smells and dog training?”

Her face doesn’t shift even a little. “Well, if a “not so smart” guy like you can grasp the concept then it must make sense, “ she points out, taking the paper back and erasing the question mark next to the passage. 

He feels himself flush with embarrassment a little. “It’s crap, you know that, right?”

She doesn’t even look up from her paper but he can smell a frustratingly small shift in her scent; he just couldn’t tell what it meant. “It worked with Sandman, didn’t it?” she questions, flipping a page over to the side. 

He’s a little shocked. “You had something to do with Sandman’s turn around?” 

Her eyes pin him to the chair so easily he’s shocked. “The human mind can only take so much emotional, psychological and physical torture before it fractures. It’s a hell of a lot easier to break than to fix. I helped him understand his violent tendencies and how to control them. Just because someone is a villain doesn’t mean they’re evil for life. Sometimes, they just need a little therapy.”

“What about Doc Oc?” he snaps, irritated at her rosey outlook on life. It hit a little too close to home.

She smiles gently, easing his irr a little. “He did awful things to you, Scarlet,” she whispers, reaching out to touch his hand softly. The instant they touch, he jerks his hand away. The damage was done though. 

He stood up violently, sending the chair flying backwards. The crash was loud and echoed through the kitchen but she didn’t move. “You don’t know anything about me!” he screams in her face.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hit that tender spot,” she states, standing up slowly and gathering her papers. “I’ll keep my nose out of your business. It’s just my nature as a Psychologist to want to help.”

Something warmed over in him and he felt his shoulders suddenly ease. There was a comfort in her words that spread across his body in a ripple that made him tired. “What’s happening?” he whispers, slumping forward to lean on the table. 

“You’re tired,” she soothes, reaching out to wrap his arm around her shoulders. “Come on, you need rest.”

The closer he was to her, the more lethargic he felt. “What are you doing to me?” he slurs, stumbling over his own feet. “Did you drug me?”

“No,” she states, pretty much carrying him back to the bed. “I’m calming you with pheromones. That’s my specialized skill. Just rest, we’ll talk more tomorrow.”


	5. Forever Starts Today

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelin and the Scarlet Spider better get to know each other, testing their boundaries and learning new things about themselves.

He woke up the next morning feeling a little less achy but Evelin was not in the bedroom this time. Instead, he smelt the telltale smells of food wafting through the bedroom door. His legs were still wobbly but stable enough to take him to the kitchen. It was slow moving but the smell of bacon and eggs was mouth wateringly welcome.

He took a moment in the hallway to look over the pictures as he shambled his way past. There was a picture of an overly excited Evelin with Captain America holding up a SHIELD diploma and the next one was with a burly, wild-looking kid that was monstrously tall compared to his hostess. There were others among the many pictures, some more people he assumed were a part of her schooling, and some he recognized from SHIELD. He decided not to linger for too long and continued towards the delicious smells.

She stood there in shorts and a tank top in front of the oven. There was coffee brewing to the side of her as she placed some bacon on a napkin-covered plate. “Mornin’,” she mumbles, sounding tired and grumpy. “Feelin’ up to real food?”

When she turned he couldn’t help but feel a little intrusive. Her hair was all over the place this morning and her face a little pallid like she was still semi-asleep. She definitely wasn’t wearing a bra. This was something only an intimate partner should see and he was not that. 

He silently scented the air and could actually get a gauge on her emotions. She was...raw today; she obviously hadn’t taken a shower so she was a little more wild. He still couldn’t tell what her presentation was, which, for an alpha, was disconcerting. 

She shuffled to the cabinet and grabbed two mugs and set them in front of the coffee maker. Thoughtlessly, she lights the candle again with a quick, practiced movement.

“Yeah, real food sounds good,” he says, taking a seat slowly.

“Cream and sugar?” she asks, holding up some fancy, flavored creamer in question.

He cringes. “No, black is fine.”

She makes a very ugly grimace in disgust and pours his before completely butchering her own with an unhealthy helping of cream and sugar. Her hands are steady as they set the mugs down beside the two plates already set out for them. “Scrambled eggs okay?” she asks, carrying the pan with her on her way back. 

He nods, mouth watering as she dumps a generous helping of cheesy eggs on his plate. She comes back with the bacon and gives him five pieces to her two. “Thanks,” he murmurs gratefully before digging in. 

She sips on her coffee for a few moments, reading a newspaper to the side. He couldn’t think of anyone under the age of 40 who still got a physical newspaper, honestly. He glances at the clock on the stove: 5:15am. It was early.

“Sorry about yesterday,” she whispers, avoiding eye contact. “For someone who can sense people’s changes in moods, I’m pretty shitty at it sometimes.”

He bites into some bacon, it felt like their altercation had been days ago not just a couple hours ago. “What did you do to me?” he decides to ask instead.

She runs a hand through her messy hair as if to calm the thick strands. “I’m a mutant,” she admits in a rush. It sounded like the very phrase hurt her to the core. Was she afraid he would be disgusted or offended? “I’m a pheromone manipulator so I can...exude scents that change behavior and manipulate the way people interact with me. It was rude of me to use that power on you without your knowledge. I’m sorry.”

His mind whirls with the information. “So is that how you helped Sandman?”

Her face is one of exhausted shock; he had a feeling she didn’t get much sleep last night. “Uh...yeah, it’s a good way of conditioning away the anger. My dissertation is about artificial pheromones but what I mean is my powers. They worked for Sandman. I hope to be able to help other villains after I have those three little letters after my name.”

He couldn’t help but think that with her mutant abilities, she might have a better chance at rehabilitating villains than normal science and psychology. “You put me to sleep,” he points out.

Her cheeks grow a little rosy behind her olive complexion. “I’m sorry. My therapy is completely voluntary and I only use my abilities forcefully when I’m in dire situations but I was afraid you would hurt yourself,” she explains, her hand moving out like she was going to touch him. At the last second, she thought better of the action and tucked her hand in her lap awkwardly. “It’s worse when we’re close or touching skin. Pheromones, like some chemicals, can soak into your pores and enter your bloodstream that way.”

Not afraid of an alpha, interesting. Thinking about it, she was probably right in tranquilizing him. He had been rather irate and aggressive last night. “Are you an X-Man?” he asks, digging into his eggs. 

She seemed thankful for the shift in topic. “Sometimes,” she shrugs, sipping at her coffee. “My skills are very...specific so I’m only used when necessary. I can’t really help that much when it comes to telepaths because they are so long-range. The further away the target is, the more diluted my pheromones are. I’m best when right next to them or touching.”

His eyes fixed on her arm when he noticed a lattice of faded scars there. They were very old and only came to his attention because of how her arm shifted in the light. They went all the way up her arm and he could see one huge scar right across where her jugular had to be. Curiosity burned at his insides.

“Is that how you got that scar on your neck,” he couldn’t help but ask.

She flinched, almost as if he had punched her, and looked a little uncomfortable. “No,” she states, putting on a more than fake smile. “That was from before I was an X-Man.”

He can sense she doesn’t want to talk about it but also sees the effort for her to keep calm. “It looks like you almost died,” he points out as gently as possible. 

He can see her debating with herself for a long moment before she looks at him and loses all tension. Perhaps his own scar was enough to encourage her. “It was from my Father,” she finally admits, avoiding eye contact. “I was...part of a cult for the first sixteen years of my life. They used me as a recruiter and I displeased a donor and Father was angry. He took a hatchet to me.”

The mere mental image of such a thing happening to a teenage Evelin made his insides curl. Even without knowing her presentation, his alpha side’s protective nature kicked in. How could a sire do that to his child? It was...unthinkable. “Why didn’t you just use your powers?” 

She laughs, dry and humorless. “I was too brainwashed to fight back. If it hadn’t been for my brother and SHIELD...I would be dead.”

He watched her down the last bit of her coffee before she would look up at him. “I guess we’ve both been through near-death experiences?” she smiles. She looked relieved to have told the story. “Not many people know that...please-”

“Who am I going to tell?” he points out, making her laugh with a little more humor. 

“That’s true,” she smiled, tilting her head to rest it on her hand. “You don’t care that I’m a mutant?”

He scoffs. “I’m a genetically engineered human-spider hybrid. I have no room to judge you on genetics.”

She laughs, showing off laugh lines around her eyes and mouth. “I guess you’re right.”

They eat in relative silence for the rest of breakfast until he gets up and rinses his plate in the sink. “Do you have my uniform?” he asks once she’s standing up as well. 

“Yeah, it’s in the bathroom of your room,” she states, rinsing out her cup. “Are you leaving?”

He looks out the window at the brightening sky. “I’m just going to check on things. I’ll be back...if you don’t mind.”

She smiles as if relieved. “Of course, you’re welcome for as long as you need!”

~~~

Once she knows he has disappeared through the window, Evelin sets about the house with her dampening spray. She had all of the candles lit in the house but that wasn’t doing much to calm her scent. The more she talked with him, the more she enjoyed his company. It was lonely sometimes and her omega brain wanted companionship.

Especially if it was an alpha.

She mentally smacks herself and gives an extra liberal spray to the kitchen. “Suppressants,” she mutters, going to her bathroom to take the little pill and then jumping into the shower.

She wondered if he was coming back. He didn’t have to, of course. He wasn’t a prisoner or anything like that. She added an extra glob of her scent-repressing body wash to her sponge as she scrubbed at her scent glands around her neck and pulse points. Stupid hormones, stupid alpha who smelt far too good for his own good.

For a moment, she presses her head against the cold tile of her shower. She had known this would be a bad idea. Of course, while he was passed out for the first two days, she had sprayed the entire house down and washed everything washable to purge her scent. She didn’t want him to wake up and go full on feral at the mere smell of her house.

Content, she turns the water off and goes about getting ready. She walks out into the bedroom to grab her clothes when she smells the scent of him waft through her doorway, which was, of course, wide fucking open!

She rushes over and goes to close it but trips with an embarrassing yelp. Thankfully, she only twisted her ankle on some article of clothing thrown haphazard on the floor. It would be fine, she gathered even as the sound of running feet came right through the door.

For an embarrassingly long moment, she looks at the fully suited Scarlet Spider who had his spikes out and ready as she sits there with only a towel wrapped around her naked body. She quashes the instinct to knock him out but doesn’t stop the wave of thankful scents that go straight to the alpha.

She doesn’t even need to see his eyes to know her room was too much. Honestly, she hadn’t bothered with purging her room because she hadn’t thought he would ever cross the threshold. She had told herself she would close the door. 

His scent suddenly exploded with protectiveness as he moved forward with frightening determination to pull her up to her feet. He was strong and forceful. She clamped down on the instinct to just melt; she was stronger than that.

His hands stayed on her just long enough for her fear to pass through their skin contact and he pulled away, coming to his senses. “I’m sorry, I thought you were in danger,” he whispers, voice too low and too dangerously intimate. It sent a shiver of stupid-omega-want down her spine; it wasn’t something she could control.

“I’m fine,” she grits out, pulling away slowly. She didn’t want to trigger his instincts by seeming to run away. “I need you to leave my room now.” 

Her words were calculated and precisely articulated. He hesitates only for a second before coming to his senses. “Yes,” is all he says before turning and walking out of the room. He closes the door behind him.

As soon as the door slams shut, it’s like the invisible strings of her determination were cut and she slumped to the ground in a naked, damp pile. The towel was under her so she wasn’t quite sure when she had lost it but that didn’t matter right now. Her body was on fire and thrumming with adrenaline.

She sits there for a few moments, trying to stop her trembling before getting dressed (after she picks up the dirty clothes and throws them into a hamper). Then, she’s standing there, fully dressed with some added scent-hiding perfume just staring at her closed door. He hadn’t left, she could still smell him. 

Steeling herself, she steps out into the living room. It was empty but she could smell him even through the special candles she had lit. She wiggles in her spot for a second before deciding to face this head-on. It was a slight faux pas but she went straight up the stairs and stood right in front of the door to the guest room. 

“Uh…” she mumbles awkwardly. She didn’t even know his real name! He had seen her butt-ass naked and she didn’t even know his name! “I know you’re in there and I’m not going to open the door because I know it’s rude to walk in on an alpha being...an alpha but...I’m sorry for leaving my door open. I live alone so...I’m just kind of used to...no one being here.”

God she sounded so pathetic even to her own ears. She was such a babbling mess of awkward and dense. 

She jumps back a little when the door opens to show he man in jeans and a hoodie. “You should have told me,” he states, keeping a good four feet between them. “I couldn’t tell.”

Evelin shuffles her feet a little. “Sorry, it’s a habit. I use scent-dampening… everything to keep the house from smelling too overwhelming on the off chance I have guests,” she admits softly. “I can be...pungent.” Ew, wrong choice of words. “It’s a side effect of my mutation, I’m afraid.”

“The candles?” he raises an eyebrow curiously.

“Citrus candles are good at counteracting the scent of an omega. I have about seven in the house.”

He nods, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “It’s unnerving to alphas not to know your presentation.”

Evelin knew he didn’t mean to come off as misogynistic but it made her bristle. “My presentation shouldn’t matter. Even if I’m an omega, I still saved your sorry alpha-ass!” 

She turns before he can say anything and makes her way down to the kitchen. She needed more coffee if she was going to get through the rants of an alpha. “That’s not what I meant!” he shouts after her, skipping the stairs to jump and land right in front of her.

Her skin prickles at the act of dominance. “Back off, spider!” she snaps, haunches raising. He seems to understand his mistake and turns to give her room to walk past. Trapping an omega was never a good idea, especially in her own house. “I’m getting some coffee. Do you want some?”

“No, thank you,” he states, overly polite. “I didn’t mean it like that, Evelin. Can I explain myself without you thinking I’m trying to dominate you?”

She leans her hands against the counter and takes a calming breath. This had been the hardest part about joining the real world. There were so many triggers and rules and touchy situations. He wasn’t a bad guy; he wasn’t like the other alphas, truly.

“I’m sorry,” she finally sighs, relaxing her posture so she could lean against the counter easier. “Go ahead.”

He relaxes with her and slumps into a chair casually. “I’m not used to someone who can bend their scent. I assume you control your pheromones as well so...I’ve just been a little uncomfortable. I didn’t mean to...insult you.”

He seemed genuine so she turned her back to start the coffee. “I’m just a little touchy. I’ve been in the real world for more than a decade now and the opinion of alphas towards me are…” 

“Shitty.”

“Yeah, that,” she smiles over her shoulder at him. “I’ve downed nearly all of the alphas in the SHIELD complex at least once just to prove that I can handle myself. I’m tired of being assigned an alpha on certain projects and assignments. Fuck they even wanted me to have an alpha by my side when I helped Sandman!”

When she turned to look at him, he looked genuinely sympathetic. “I didn’t mean to make you feel that way, Evelin,” he says slowly. The way he said her name was...nope, not thinking that! He was pumping out comforting pheromones that even she wasn’t immune to.

“Stop that,” she demands, making him jump. “I know you’re not aware of it but you’re trying to comfort me with pheromones. Try to control yourself.”

He gives a little crooked smile. “Sorry, it’s only natural. You’re agitated and I want to help.” With a soft sigh, he runs a hand over his shaved head. “You know, any other unbonded omega would never have taken in an alpha. Especially, if that alpha was wounded and in need of medical attention. I think there’s a movie like this.”

His humor made her relax a little and she smiled. He wasn’t being rude; he was just trying to ease the stuffy atmosphere of the house to where it was earlier before she had fucked up. “This isn’t the Lifetime channel!” she huffs dramatically enjoying the way his face split into a slight smile. “Besides, I don’t even know your real name.”

“Don’t really know what my real name is, honestly,” he shrugs casually. “I don’t remember anything before Doc Oc started experimenting on me.”

She felt pain in her chest for the alpha. Being without a name was a sad thing; she could definitely relate. “I didn’t get a name until I was rescued,” she finds herself admitting without a reason other than to sympathize. 

He looks a little sceptical but accepts her word. “My friends...used to call me Ben,” he states, looking sad and despondent.

Evelin sits next to him, probably a little too close, but sent out comforting, sympathetic pheromones to ease the stress between his eyebrows. She wanted desperately to reach for him; she wanted to hold his hand and really connect but knew he wasn’t ready. “They know what you did. They understand why you did it, Ben,” she whispers, leaning close so their knees almost brushed. “You didn’t know any better. Octavius is a master manipulator and preyed on your feelings. Even alphas feel indebted to those who help them. It may take some time but I think your teammates will grow to understand why you did it.”

He jerks to a standing position. She freezes, not wanting to set off his alpha instincts, just looking up at him with calm eyes. He smelt of desperation and aggression and confusion. He wanted to believe her; he desperately wanted to believe her. 

“How can you say that?! I sold them out and now...Oc knows Spiderman’s secret identity! I did that!” he shouts, releasing a lot of warning signals. He felt so powerful and dangerous in that moment that Evelin had to marvel at his broad shoulders and slim waist and the strength of him. She knew it was just her omega side making her think stupid things but he was...handsome when he was angry. 

She slowly sits back in her chair, acutely aware of how dangerous he could be when pushed too far. “Because, I know that your friends will learn to understand your motives if you just...talk to them. It will take time but trust can be restored,” Evelin smiles, resting her hands in her lap so that she didn’t come off as challenging.

Ben watches her for a few moments and eventually decides that he didn’t need to be so threatening. He slumps down into his chair again, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at the wall. “How do I even try to fix this?” he finally asks, more to himself than to her. 

Carefully, she reaches out with one hand and lightly brushes his fingers. The contact was instantly electric with her pheromones soaking into his skin, rendering him completely calm. The tension in his shoulders flooded away and he seemed to sink into himself. “You just have to wait for the right time. Rest, gain your strength back, and then when you know enough time has passed...go,” she whispers, sitting back when she knew he was relaxed. 

“What if...I can’t stay here,” he whispers, shaking his head. “If you have guests, they’ll know you have an alpha here.”

She scoffs lightly. “I don’t get a lot of visitors. I try to keep people away from here so I don’t have to purge the house every time. Even betas can get overwhelmed by my scent. I try not to bring people here as much as possible,” she admits, embarrassed.

He looks up from under his lashes at her and smirks. “You do kind of reek,” he teases.

“Excuse me for being me!” she gasps sarcastically, getting up to grab a cup of coffee now that the whole room smelt like it. “You can stay as long as you like, Ben. It’s...nice to have someone in the house. Just...don’t go into my room again, okay?”

“Deal,” he nods, taking the cup she offered him. “So...no name before you left your cult?”

She felt her stomach roll in disgust but it wasn’t at him. “Yeah, they weren’t very big on names. My Father--”

“Don’t call him that.”

The pure passion and disgust in his voice made her skin tingle with a stupid primal feeling; she felt like he was protecting her and that was weird but...comforting. “Areli believed that only men of power, alphas, should get names. Everyone else had a number or a title. Our warriors were called Warrior and our cooks were called Cook and our mothers were called Mother. Only Areli was allowed to be called Father because he was the Father of everyone.”

He sat quietly sipping his coffee. “What was your title?”

“Omegas didn’t get a title until they were bred,” she grits, setting down her cup of coffee a little too hard. “I chose my name when I was found by Ste...Captain Rogers.”

They sit in silence for a few moments before he speaks again. “How did you get your degree so quickly?”

Thankful for the change of subject she shrugs. “I took as many classes as I possibly could during every semester and as many as I could during the summer session,” she explains, sipping her coffee. “I’m still doing my residency but they allowed me to finish my doctorate because of how quickly I finished my classes. Besides, I’m doing everything through SHIELD so they kind of expedited my education so I could be legit.”

“That’s pretty impressive,” he smirks, making her stomach do a little backflip. Stupid fucking omega reactions to a fucking alpha’s compliments. “So you present tomorrow?”

She had almost completely forgotten about that! “Yes, but I’m ready,” she insists, having practiced her ass off for the past three months while fixing every small mistake in her paper. “I’m just antsy to get it over with.”

He nodded. They sat in relatively comfortable silence for a few moments before he gets up to clean out his empty glass in the sink. “I’m going to slip out for a bit,” he states without preamble.

“That’s fine, I’ll get some stuff done around the house then,” she smiles, standing up to sidle up next to him at the sink. He looks down at her from his taller height and doesn’t seem uncomfortable with how close she was. “I usually have dinner around six if you’re going to be back by then. I’ll make extra.”

He nods in agreement and leaves.

~~~

Stalking Peter was not something he would ever admit to doing. 

He just...wanted to make sure the kid was okay. If his little fuck-up had left the spider permanently scarred or deformed he would never forgive himself. Besides, he needed something to do so Evelin could clear her house of her scent a little better.

Her scent was...intoxicating. It had hit him like a brick wall when he had rushed into her room, thinking she was in danger. What he hadn’t expected was a freshly clean, naked omega sitting there staring at him with her big blue eyes. She needed help, his brain had cried without his permission. He had lifted her up by her shoulders and had known his mistake right then.

His skin prickled at the memory of how her omega-want and fear had soaked through every pore of his hands. With it came a threat of danger and warning that she was more than he could handle at that moment. She hadn’t backed down and he could practically taste how easily she could down him if push came to shove. Instead, he had dropped his hands and backed away to signal his submission to her control of the house.

He was an alpha but he wasn’t stupid. Omegas were not as weak as most alphas liked to think and he definitely knew that a mutant omega could drop him in a heartbeat. So when she had defiantly told him to leave he barely hesitated before going.

The guest room was the only place that didn’t smell like her so he had hidden there until she came to find him. She was an...odd omega. Usually, omegas weren’t so prone to risky behavior. She took a lot of risks that a normal omega would never take with an alpha.

Growling, he shook his head. If he were going to stay in her house then he would have to set aside his alpha tendencies so they could coexist. So many people boasted how an alpha and omega could never live in the same house without eventually getting together. Sure, it was unlikely to have that happen by pure accident but he wasn’t going to allow his dick to determine how he acted. 

Cordial and polite, were doing to be his middle names while she allowed him to live in her house. She was being kind to him...for some reason, and this was the second chance he never would have gotten otherwise. He wasn’t going to waste this.

He checked the clock on the large screen that had JJ’s face on it shouting something and cursed. He was going to be late!

Jumping from the shadows, he easily started racing across the tops of buildings. His old team wouldn’t be out right now. They had classes until lunch but he was still careful as he rushed across the city towards his destination. He wasn’t going to be late, he swore it.

He deftly jumped down from a building to a ladder then to the other wall and to the ground without a sound. He pulled his hoodie around his head more as he looked around the street. It was quiet because most of the students were still in class so he looked up at the building with some old, dead person’s name on it and slipped through the door. He kept his head down but lifted enough to look at the directory.

Third floor.

He took the stairs a flight at a time and stopped at the door to check and see if anyone was there. There were a few students standing there nervously shuffling their feet. Obviously, she wasn’t the only one presenting today. 

Stepping out, he kept his head down and found a nice corner to stand in, trying to make himself as small as possible. No one really knew what he looked like but he was definitely a face to remember. If someone were to just happen to talk about someone with a scar going down their face...well, his cover could be blown. 

That being said, he had to be here.

It was another half hour before the door opened and she exited looking professional in her pinstripe suit. She didn’t seem an ounce nervous but he could smell the slight bit of bitter tang coming from her. But, for what it was worth, she held herself straight and stood there waiting for them to come back with a verdict. 

None of the people in the hallway joined her. He had assumed that she didn’t have anyone to stand with her while she waited for their conclusion. She hadn’t called anyone or spoken to anyone that he knew of since he got there three days ago.

He slowly slipped up until he was standing beside her. She jumped but looked at him shocked for two seconds before melting into a grateful smile. “You came,” she whispers, more a breath than anything else. “You didn’t have to come.”

He shrugs. “I know, I wanted to.” 

“It went well, I think,” she whispers so no one else will hear. “They just have to vote now.”

Without really wanting to, he sent comforting vibes her way. It was just an alpha thing to do. She seemed to relax though and stopped the slight fidget that had started to form in the fingers wrapped around her dissertation. “I’m glad you came.”

He just nods, staring at the door to ignore how aware he was of her. Without looking at her, he could feel every shift and change in her position; he could smell every bit of her anxiety. Ben was also acutely aware of the people around them whispering about them. There were a lot of betas in the hallway and one alpha but it seemed that person was here as a support. 

Evelin was the only omega.

She flicked her eyes over her shoulder for just a second but he elbowed her gently. “Don’t worry about them. They’re just petty,” he whispers, feeling her grateful smell fill him to the point of intoxicating. She felt protected and safe. It was the easiest way to overwhelm an alpha. “Please stop that.”

Her shoulders shake with her laughter but she eases her scent down to a dull roar. “Sorry, I’m just...thanks. I was terrified to stand out here alone.”

He felt a deep primal need to touch her but he held back for obvious reasons. “You should have said something.”

She shrugs. “I obviously didn’t have to,” she smiles, face beaming.

Ben looked away, feeling some odd things happening in his chest. He felt...warm and content. Like...making her happy was all he needed to make himself happy. His alpha purred deep inside of him. It was unnerving.

Before he could say anything, the door handle turned and the hallway went silent. It seemed, to Ben, like it took forever for the door to open. There was a professional, matronly woman standing here when it did finally open. She had wire rim glasses on her long nose and a lot of wrinkles.

A warm, thin hand was suddenly in his and he felt every ounce of her emotions as she squeezed. Her pheromones were intense. She was terrified; she was excited; she was safe; she was warm; and she was addictive.

“Congratulations, Dr. Jager,” the woman finally smiles.

Evelin’s pheromones explode through him like a punch to the gut. She was so happy and excited and proud and beautiful and...everything! Her tears were real and genuine as she gasps, covering her mouth with her hand. 

“Really?!” she breathes, too shocked for words. 

“Yes, your dissertation was especially interesting and original. We hope to see great things come from you, Dr. Jager. We’ll see you in May for graduation.”

Ben tugs her away after she says thank you for the thousandth time so the next person could go into the room. She was nearly jumping with her joy and he was drowning in it. It was...beautiful to feel what she was feeling in one of the best moments of her life. He felt like he was stealing something intimate that he didn’t deserve.

She seems to realize that she was still holding his hand and let’s go only to wrap her arms around his neck. “I’m glad you were here to share this with me,” she nearly sobs with joy, easing his guilt. “I’m so glad it was you.”

He wraps his arms around her waist and enjoys the moment of happiness before letting her go. “Let’s go home, Dr. Jager,” he smiles, still coming down from the high of her emotions.

Ben could swear the woman’s face was turning red but there wasn’t really a reason. “Okay,” she smiles as they walk side-by-side towards the exit.


End file.
